Naruto the Gilgamesh
by Mako-Hero
Summary: Where he walks the earth is raked behind him. For the six swords of the end hold no remorse. Slight crossover with FF7 and other related titles. NaruXSakuXIno
1. The sword of defiance

**I don't own anything.**

**This is a story I'm trying out. As of now I don't plan to continue it unless reviews say you want me to. I kind of need a break from my other story because I have insane writers block going on right now.**

**Well anyways this story will be slightly crossed over with some games that are out there if it does continue. It would only be the names and/or descriptions of the swords used though. Mostly final fantasy swords, but not the first one. Well maybe a little more than just the swords but not too much hehe.**

**Enjoy! And please tell me if you think I should continue this story.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

It is said that the Gilgamesh is a thief. It is said that he destroys heroes and villains alike to take their sword up as his own. This cannot be further from the truth. The Gilgamesh has never been one mere mortal man before so how can he steal something from anyone when has never truly existed? He is more akin to a spirit placed in six different swords that have been scattered throughout time. Small sparks of his tales reach throughout history just brief enough to go unnoticed. He is rarely spoken of because barely anyone knows him, not even those who have wielded a part of his entity have fully grasped his nature. Most people only know stories of the heroes and villains that have held the swords that hold his spirit, but not the spirit itself.

It has been hypothesized by the few that have ever known of him that if the Gilgamesh was ever brought into one being it would mean the end times were upon them. For where he walks the earth is raked behind him. A single sword of Gilgamesh is powerful in the right hands, but all six swords have the power to destroy the entirety life as it is known. Since the beginning no one person has ever held more than one of his blades.

The spirit doesn't search for a host. It is pulled to them. And upon his birth Naruto Uzumaki had the potential to pull any one of the six pieces of the Gilgamesh into his being. Instead he pulled them all.

The Gilgamesh has never been one mortal man. Until now.

(Line break)

Team seven was on their way to the Wave country with the bridge builder Tazuna as a routine protection duty. Even though the duty has been proven to be far more treacherous than previously thought with the arrival of the demon brothers, they still push on to complete their mission. The sun was shining as the one eyed jonin Kakashi took point in the march, followed by the bridge builder and finally the three genin on either side and behind the old builder. The whole group seemed quite happy except for one member. Everyone's favorite hyperactive ninja still had his head down in sorrow as he recalled the events that occurred the day before.

(Flashback)

The demon brothers were closing in on Naruto, but he couldn't move. His fear paralyzed him in a way he never thought possible. _'I'm going to die!'_ Thoughts of his demise raced through his mind. Just before a lethal strike was blown by one of the brothers, the prodigy Sasuke Uchiha jumped in and saved Naruto. The most infuriating, dickheaded guy in the world saved him and now he has to live with it! That son of a bitch even had the nerve to taunt him afterward!

Needless to say Naruto was less than happy.

(Flashback over)

Naruto picked up his head in defiance. _'No more! Next time I'm going to do the saving and Sasuke is going to watch! I'll show that bastard who the scaredy cat is!'_ With renewed vigor and swagger put back into his stride he bravely walked forward. As he charged with his head held high a giant seven foot cleaver whizzed just above his arrogant noggin and imbedded itself into a tree.

"What the hell?" Naruto yelled as he looked to see a tall muscular man stood upon the sword that just dug into the Oak in front of them.

The silver haired jonin of team seven was already prepared for this attacker. "Team seven! Guard Tazuna! I will deal with this." Kakashi said as he pulled out his sharingan and a kunai without hesitation.

The tall man clad in blue only laughed. "Ah Copy Cat Kakashi. What a pleasant surprise!" His arms were open in familiarity almost as if he was looking for a hug, but it was merely a taunt.

Kakashi recognized the man from the bingo books and cast a worried glance to the three genin behind him. "Zabuza Momochi. Demon of the Hidden Mist. I can't say this is pleasant." The scarecrow jonin lazily drawled out to not beget his nervousness.

Zabuza jumped to the ground and removed his blade from the tree with ease. "Enough with the small talk. Give me the bridge builder." He held his hand out as if Kakashi wasn't going to hesitate to do what he said. "Or do you need a little persuasion?" He spoke as his hands tightened around the grip of his massive sword.

Kakashi signaled to his group without turning around. "Whatever happens do not move away from Tazuna." The team nodded in agreement even though their instructor could not see them.

The large enemy only maliciously laughed again. "Good! I was going to fight you anyway whether you gave him to me or not!" Without any further warning the killer from Kirigakure began his assault upon the lone scarecrow.

The fight was magnificent, but Naruto let his eyes wander momentarily from the clash of the titans in front of him and instead focused on his team. To his left he noticed Sakura seemed worried, but alert. Her long pink hair was fully tied back and she was in a defensive stance around Tazuna. He let his gaze linger on her features longer than he planned. He'd have to stop doing that.

To his right he noticed Sasuke. The black haired boy was acting weird. He was fidgety. Almost like he was…. afraid! Naruto grinned until it felt like his face was going to split in half. _'He's scared! This will be my chance. If anything happens he will look like the coward and I'll be the hero! Then I'll get some respect!'_

Naruto focused once again on the fight. It seemed like Kakashi had the upper hand, but one small slip up and he fell into the trap that is Zabuza's water prison technique. Now Kakashi is stuck in a water bubble and Zabuza is forced to stay in one place to keep the jutsu active. It was now a jonin versus three genin. Even if their enemy couldn't move they could tell they were still fucked.

Naruto knew there was no time to waste and took the initiative. "Sakura-chan you stay and guard the old man. Sasuke and I will try to free Kakashi-sensei." She wanted to argue with him because they were told to stay where they were, but she knew there was no other option so the pinkette only nodded.

The enemy jonin laughed. "I could take you brats on without my hands! Don't think you're gonna win because I'm preoccupied! MIZU BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Using only one hand Zabuza made the signs and formed a water clone to his side.

The previously frightened Uchiha gained courage and moved to intercept. He charged the bunshin and attempted to imbed it with kunai. _'Don't go without me asshole!'_ Naruto mentally screamed at his friend. The blonde jinchuuriki's anger instantly changed to worry as the clone effortlessly batted Sasuke away and he hit the ground with a hard thump. "Sasuke!" The other two members of team seven yelled to their fallen comrade.

Naruto ran to his friend to look him over. He was unconscious. There were no severe injuries that he could see, but the blonde boy had no experience with medical ninjutsu so he didn't know if there was a concussion or other internal damage to his friend that he couldn't detect. He glared at the water clone staring down at him. "You bastard! I'm going to kick your ass!" The young genin charged the clone just as his friend did and in the same way he was batted down. The difference is he wouldn't stay down. Naruto relentlessly attacked the clone. Each time he got up he was knocked down and each time he was knocked down he got up.

'_Defiance.'_

Naruto heard the voice in his head, but he ignored it. Instead he kept pushing forward only to be brutally beat back down. The clone was obviously growing tired of this green genin not taking the hint to stop. He was finally fed up. "That's enough brat! It's time to die!" The Zabuza clone howled as his giant cleaver rose above his head and he used all his might to bring it down upon the child in front of him.

Naruto looked up at the cleaver coming down to his face with disdain. He raised his hands in an attempt to push the sword away since he couldn't escape it, but the blade had already passed through his defenses and was on a direct course with his face. "I refuse to die!" As the giant cleaver was about to crash into Naruto's head, time itself seemed to slow down until the decapitating sword appeared to stop about a foot from his face. The stillness around Naruto was odd.

'_You would defy the very gods.'_ A strange voice crept into Naruto's brain. It was a strong masculine voice, but was also reassuring and warm.

'_Who's there? What's going on?'_ Naruto was confused. His body couldn't move, but he could see everything around him was stopped as well. The scene was frozen to look like a 3-D photograph of what was taking place except he noticed something odd. A large black hilt was now in his right hand where there was none before.

The voice boomed back into his head. _'I am Gilgamesh. Or more precisely you are.'_

'_My name's not Gilgamesh. I'm Naruto!'_ He was confused so he started yelling as is his nature.

'_Gilgamesh is Naruto. Naruto is Gilgamesh. They are one and the same.'_

Naruto hated riddles. _'Just explain to me what is going on creepy voice man.'_ He said exasperated.

The voice was unaffected by Naruto's taunt. _'Boldness has triggered your awakening and as such you've unlocked your first weapon. It has been pulled from the depths of your soul and has been drug to the surface by your unending defiance of those who wish to quell your life.'_

'_What the hell are you talking about? I don't have a weapon.'_ Naruto looked to the object in his hand. _'This hilt came from no where, but there is nothing attached to it.'_

'_Call its name and the first of six will belong to you. Once you summon it the sword will be at your beck and call whenever you see fit. It will imbue you with power and give you abilities that no others are allowed. Under its weight no enemy can stand.'_ The voice went silent.

Naruto attempted to contact the voice again to no avail so now he was stuck staring at the hilt in his hand. It was obvious that time would not go back to normal until he figured out what the name of this thing was. He wasn't sure he wanted time to speed back up since there was a giant cleaver about a foot from his face and he had no way to stop it, but I digress.

As he gazed upon the hilt whispers began forming in his head once again, but this time it was not Gilgamesh. This voice was unintelligible. It sounded more like a thousand voices rolled into one. Echoes of 'say my name' rang through his head over and over.

'_Tell me what your name is!' _Naruto demanded.

'_It is…'_

"GOD EATER!" Zabuza flinched as Naruto's voice rang in front of his clone. From the hilt in Naruto's hand a large mechanical blade shot forth and knocked the clone's sword on its side causing it to turn back into the water the clone was made of. Without hesitation the clone jumped back to regroup and instantly remade a sword from the water on the battleground.

The weapon that appeared in Naruto's hand was less like a sword and more like a five foot bludgeoning device. It was shaped like a greatsword, but where the edge of the blade was supposed to be there was a long metal block with gear like ends. It was at least a foot thick and appeared to weigh several hundred pounds. At a cursory glance Naruto could tell it had absolutely no cutting power and could only be used to beat his enemies down.

Naruto's comrades watched in awe as he picked himself up. Even the waterlogged Kakashi was amazed and confused by what just happened. As Naruto moved around he found that the sword was heavy, but not too heavy to lift. "This thing must weigh a hundred and fifty pounds." He said as he hurled the large mechanical looking sword over his shoulder and rested it near the crook of his neck. As he did this Naruto felt his feet begin to sink into the ground as if he was being slowly pulled under.

'_Fifty thousand.'_

'_Fifty thousand what?'_ Naruto thought to Gilgamesh as he pulled his feet out of the ground only to have them sink in again.

'_It's closer to fifty thousand pounds. Not one hundred and fifty.'_

Naruto's eyes went wide as he looked to the massive being on his shoulder. _'H-how? How am I able to hold this if it's that heavy?_'

'_This is God Eater. Under its weight no enemy can stand. It has the power to crush the gods themselves. You are the only one who can wield this sword. It is futile for others to even try for they will be torn asunder by its heavy burden.'_

Naruto scoffed. _'You must be lying. There's no way...'_ Naruto pushed God Eater off of his shoulder and let it fall to the ground. As it hit the dirt the earth beneath his feet shook and a crater opened up below him causing Naruto to fall in. The blonde jinchuuriki stood up in the hole he made and dusted himself off. _'Then again maybe you're not lying.'_

Naruto tried to climb out of the crater, but the weight of the sword he's holding made every step he took wasted. It had been almost a full minute and he still hadn't gotten out of the crater he inadvertently made. _'I have to get out there! They need me!_' Whenever he gets one step up he sinks into the ground or slides back down. _'This sword is too damn heavy.'_

_'Will it away.'_

_'What?'_

_'It is at your beck and call. Will it away and it will do so.'_ The voice once again goes silent.

_'Grrr okay.'_ Naruto picked up God Eater and concentrated on pulling it back into himself. After a moment the sword glowed and sunk back into the hilt, which then disappeared as well. _'Sweet! This just keeps getting better!'_

Naruto jumped out of the crater to see the last Uchiha now awake and once again engaging the clone. Only this time he was being more careful. He wasn't the best in his class for no reason. He learned from his earlier mistake and grew as a shinobi.

A mere glance at each other allowed the two genin to formulate a crude plan. Their teamwork was paying off because Naruto knew Sasuke was going to draw the clones attention while the blonde boy ambushed him from the back. Just as he thought, Sasuke began to engage the clone from one direction only so he wouldn't see Naruto sneaking up.

As Naruto stealthily approached the clone from behind he quickly glanced around to make sure he was clear. Naruto was relieved to see Sakura standing in front of Tazuna. The both of them were still okay and completely unharmed. Sasuke must have protected them while Naruto tried to make his way out of the crater he formed.

He noticed the real Zabuza watching him approach his clone, but saying nothing to warn it of its demise. Naruto could almost feel the demon's smirk under the bandages that covered his mouth. _'Why won't he warn the clone I'm coming?_ _Maybe he wants to see my sword in action again?'_ Naruto returned the smirk to Zabuza._ 'I don't even know what it can really do yet. I guess this will be educational for both of us.'_

Sasuke threw one final kunai at the clone, which was promptly blocked, before jumping back. "Come on you wuss! Being dead won't be so bad!" The clone taunted.

"You're the dead one!" Naruto stood behind the water clone with both hands held high, but nothing in them. "God Eater!" Just as before the hilt appeared and the mechanical battering ram shot out from it. The clone turned and held up his sword to block. He might as well have dispelled himself because no part of the clone offered any resistance to the downward swing of Naruto's sword. The metal monstrosity just plowed straight through the water sword and water man without even so much as slowing down.

"Yeah!" Naruto basked in his victory for only a moment before Sasuke appeared next to him.

"I don't know what the hell that thing you're holding is, but it may be our only hope to help Kakashi-sensei. We have a strong chance to free him now dobe so let's not waste it." Naruto pouted, but listened to the teme's idea.

Zabuza stood back watching the two confer with each while they stared back at him. When it seemed they were done planning they began to approach him. "Just because you can beat my clone doesn't mean you can beat me." Zabuza said. They still steadily approached him. Naruto's sword disappeared again and he moved behind the Uchiha to retrieve a large shuriken from a summon scroll in his pack. After handing the oversized throwing weapon to the black haired boy Naruto resumed his gait next to his friend. _'What the hell is that sword the blonde one has and where did it go? Maybe if I kill him I can take it. Still, I can't let him get near me.'_ Zabuza smirked. "I can always make more clones. Brats."

Zabuza made a hand sign and three water clones appeared in front of him. Sasuke took the shuriken and threw it with all his might towards the real Zabuza hiding behind the three clones. "Rahhhh!' Sasuke screamed as he poured every bit of power into his throw.

"That won't work." He said as the three clones lined up to either block or take the hit for the real Zabuza. However just before the shuriken hit the first clone the large throwing device poofed to reveal Naruto spinning towards the clones in place of the shuriken. '_Shit! A henge!'_

Naruto was spinning just as fast as the shuriken was when Sasuke threw it. But in his hands was the God Eater and at this velocity the momentum created by Naruto and his sword together tore through the clones with ease. He was now on a direct collision course with the real Zabuza and nothing was in his way. The muscular killer from the hidden mist released Kakashi from his water prison and attempted to jump away. Before he fully escaped, Naruto nicked the man in blue fatigue's foot with his hand held tank effectively shattering every bone throughout.

Zabuza winced as he felt the bones in his foot basically turn to dust under the might of Naruto's sword. If he wasn't a seasoned veteran he may have even passed out form the sudden pain. Instead he fell onto his one good foot and leaped after Naruto. He didn't understand what was driving this genin, but the kid was to much of a wild card to allow him to roam freely.

Naruto drug God Eater across the ground to stop himself from going too far and pivoted to try to find the enemy as quickly as possible. Before the blonde boy new what was happening a fist connected with his face, which caused him to release the God Eater and sail through the air until he hit a tree. Unlike being hit by the clone, this punch hurt a shit load. There was no quick recovery time after this hit like he was able to do earlier. A jonin just punched him in the face and now he was on the edge of consciousness. He was lucky to be alive! Jonin have been known to cleanly punch through sheet metal even without enhancing themselves with chakra and Naruto is positive that if Zabuza wasn't injured then his face would have been permanently remodeled.

Although Naruto was out of the picture for now, unfortunately for Zabuza the famous copy cat ninja was now released and free to work his magic. The broken foot he was limping around on spelled disaster against the seasoned leaf jonin and in no time flat Zabuza was at the brink of death. Just as Kakashi was about to deliver the final blow a Kirigakure hunter nin appeared and 'killed' the giant rogue ninja. He left to dispose of the body leaving a suspicious Kakashi.

(Line break)

In the aftermath of the battle Naruto was crowded by the members of his team and Tazuna as he sat against a tree. The pink haired member was the first to speak. "Baka! What the hell do you think you were doing! You could've died!" She screamed at him while simultaneously treating the large welt on his face. Naruto was the only one with a treatable injury. Sasuke just hit his head and needed some pain killers, but overall he was okay.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Sorry Sakura-chan. I had to help sensei!" He pleaded hoping to not be beaten any more that day.

"Naruto." Kakashi leaned forward and invaded Naruto's private bubble. "What was that club you were swinging around earlier and where did it come from?" He said in an inquisitive tone.

"Ahhh I don't really know exactly where it came from." He said slowly. "I don't know what's going on with me, but I'm pretty sure it's not over. At least that's what I was told."

Kakashi leaned farther in until he was almost nose to nose with Naruto. "Someone talked to you about that thing? When?"

Naruto backed up to give himself some breathing room. "Umm I don't know. There was a voice in my head. He said he was Gilgamesh... or that I was Gilgamesh or something. I swear I don't really know."

Kakashi ignored the fact that he just said he's hearing voices, but the team looked at Naruto like he had gone insane. "Hmmm." Kakashi scratched his chin. "May I see the weapon."

"Sure." He stood up and put his hand out in front of him. "Sakura-chan can you please back up a little because I'm afraid I don't have full control over this and I don't want it to hurt you." Sakura didn't know if she should be touched Naruto cared for her or mad he was underestimating her, but she moved back anyway. "The name of my sword is... God Eater!" The black hilt of the mammoth sword appeared and the blade slowly extended this time instead of quickly since it sensed that there was no emergency. Naruto let the rounded end of the blade sink into the ground and let go of the hilt once he was sure the blade wasn't going to fall over or sink any further.

The whole team marveled at the beauty of the blade. It appeared to be a technological wonder even though it was so bulky. Kakashi stepped forward. "Do you mind if I examine it Naruto? It would only be for a moment and then I will give it right back." Kakashi was always respectful and always asked permission to use the weapon of any sword wielder because the last time he touched Yugao's sword without asking she almost chopped his balls off. He never made that mistake again.

The blonde boy smirked. "Sure Kakashi-sensei. Go right ahead."

Kakashi grabbed the hilt and tried to pull it up with all his might. He even tried to enhance his muscles with chakra and still the thing wouldn't budge. The red faced jonin appeared to have given up when he let go and turned around only to quickly pivot and grab the hilt again to try to lift it. It seemed like he was trying to surprise the blade or something. The rest of the group laughed at his expense. Naruto couldn't tell, but he thought his sensei pouted. "How heavy is this thing Naruto?"

Naruto thought for a second. "Around fifty thousand pounds."

The group hit the floor in a comic style fashion. "How can you lift it then when sensei can't!" Sakura yelled.

"I was told only I can summon it and lift it. To me it feels closer to one hundred and fifty pounds." Naruto said as he lifted the sword from the ground with both hands and with quite a bit of strain threw it over his shoulders. Again his feet began to sink into the ground and the others watched in disbelief.

"I've heard of specialized swords, but never one like this." Kakashi said as he ran his hand across the blade.

"Umm Kakashi-sensei? Is it okay if I put this away now? I'm kinda sinking into the ground." Naruto asked nervously.

The silver haired jonin watched Naruto slowly descend for another second before speaking. "Of course Naruto."

The sword sunk back into the hilt and everyone gasped. "Ahh that's better. Anyways, like I was saying before, I don't think this is over. The voice said this was one of six." He gestured to the hilt in his hand before he made it disappear as well.

The team and Tazuna looked at Naruto like he was crazy. "The boy is bat-shit nuts! He's hearin voices!" The drunk bridge builder spoke up first.

Naruto growled at him. "Fuck you old-man!" He leaped forward to brawl with the elderly man, but was caught midair by Kakashi.

"Alright alright settle down you two." The one eyed man chastised.

Sasuke scoffed at the childishness of the old man and his fellow genin while Sakura yelled. "Naruto you baka! We're supposed to protect him! Not hurt him!"

Naruto flailed his arms and legs in Kakashi's grip. "I'm not gonna kill'em or anything!" He settled down. "Just give him his just desserts." He said sheepishly.

"You're just a pussy." Tazuna laughed and took another swig of his drink.

"Rahhh!" Naruto launched himself again, but found himself in an executioner's grapple by Kakashi.

"Tazuna I'm going to have to ask you not to rile up my genin. Remember we can leave you at any time. You lied to us about the mission so we have no obligation to help you." The bridge builder scoffed, but didn't say another word.

Naruto just put his head down as Kakashi let him down again. "I swear I'm not lying about the voice Kakashi-sensei." He said quietly.

The silver haired put a comforting hand on the blonde boy's shoulder. "I believe you Naruto."

"Really?" Naruto picked his head up.

"Of course." He smiled at his young charge. "I've seen many weird things in my life. Although I've never heard of anything like this I won't say you are lying to me just because it's odd. Plus, this whole situation you've fallen into is in another realm of oddity that I couldn't explain if I wanted to." Kakashi chuckled and Naruto brightened up a bit. Naruto didn't realize that Kakashi was very frightened the Kyuubi was speaking to him.

"Thanks Kakashi-sensei." Naruto felt closer to his instructor than ever before.

"Just for clarity." Kakashi said curiously to try and not give away the fact the he was questioning Naruto's mental stability. "What did the voice say?"

Naruto thought for a moment. "It said boldness allowed me to bring out the God Eater." He thought a little more before speaking. "Also that I have awoken one part of six."

Kakashi seemed slightly surprised. It didn't sound like the Kyuubi was trying to effect Naruto at all. "So the voice didn't try to persuade you to do anything?" He asked cautiously.

"Persuade?" Naruto thought to himself. "Not at all. If anything the voice was informational. It just gave me some info about the sword."

_'You may call me Gilgamesh for ease.'_

"He just spoke to me. He said to call him Gilgamesh." Naruto said to his friends.

"I think you should speak to this Gilgamesh." Kakashi said. "Ask him what he wants." Naruto nodded to his instructor. Kakashi needed to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible. He didn't have the required competency with fuuin jutsu to fix a breach in the Kyuubi's seal and he couldn't risk the nine tails getting loose.

_'What is it you want from me?'_ Naruto thought to himself in hopes to receive an answer.

_'I don't want anything. I have no will to persuade you. I have no ability to persuade you. I am only here as your guide should you need it.'_ Gilgamesh answered.

Naruto sighed in relief. _'Well I suppose we should get started. What the hell did I get myself into Mr. creepy voice Gilgamesh man?'_

**So what did you guys think? I have to let you know that if I did continue this story there would be a pairing. I haven't decided who would be with Naruto yet, but I'll think about it if you guys want me to keep this up. **

**I already have ideas for the other swords, but if you want a picture of what God Eater looks like then look up the swords for the game called God Eater. Basically it looks like one of those except I put a thick, gear like block across the bladed edge.**

**I hope you enjoyed!**

**Please review if you want me to continue!**


	2. The sword of hate

**I don't own anything.**

**Hey looks like I'm gonna continue! I'm so happy you guys liked it! **

**I want to let all of you know that this chapter is packed with a lot of content. The ones I release later will be better than this one. That is something I can promise you. Also, I will be updating frequently for a while. I have already prewritten a few chapters.**

**Beware because I caused some seriously graphic death in this chapter. You were warned.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

Currently, Naruto was plopped on the ground in a meditative trance talking to his most recently acquired inner voice named Gilgamesh. They had only been speaking for a few moments, but from what Naruto could tell the spirit was emotionless. There was no remote chance of forming any type of relationship with the being inside him because it seemed Gilgamesh lacked the ability of attachment. He was a robot. A machine designed to pump out raw data and nothing more.

_'So you're name is Gilgamesh huh?'_ Naruto said uncomfortably. The conversation felt forced and awkward and he didn't really know where to begin.

_'If that is what you wish my name to be than it shall be so. '_ Naruto couldn't even detect a hint of emotion.

The blonde genin sighed. He had a feeling he was going to be sighing a lot through talking to this guy. _'Okay so I can ask you questions about what is happening to me right?'_

_'Yes. What is your query?'_ Gilgamesh calmly asked.

_'Query?'_ Naruto couldn't understand the insensitivity coming from Gilgamesh….. or what the word 'query' meant.

_'Yes. What would you ask of me? I will answer to the best of my knowledge.'_ Gilgamesh had the same calm voice, which was still devoid of feeling, but was somehow soothing.

Naruto felt a little weird talking to himself like this. _'Oh... uhhhh... So could you explain to me what is going on?'_

_'Query acknowledged. Right now we are talking to each other.'_ Gilgamesh stated.

Naruto waited for something more before he mentally face palmed himself. _'I don't mean what's going on this second I mean... (sigh).'_ Naruto was floored. He now understood that Gilgamesh truly is emotionless. The only thing he is capable of doing is answering questions in the most literal of senses. _'Okay let's try this again. Can you tell me where I got this sword from?'_

_'God Eater was pulled from your soul. Your defiance manifested itself physically and God Eater is the result. Because of this the cycle has started. Soon enough different emotions and actions you experience will manifest themselves just as the God Eater has.'_

Naruto was a little surprised. If he wasn't mistaken Gilgamesh just answered more questions than he asked. Does that mean he was messing with him before when Naruto asked him what was going on? Does he actually have a will of his own? _'I have to ask. Do you have... like I don't know... feelings or anything?'_

Gilgamesh was silent for a moment as if he was pondering whether or not to answer. _'I do.'_

_'Really? Then why don't you sound like it?'_ Naruto questioned sarcastically even though he was majorly surprised.

_'I cannot interfere with your growth. I cannot chance you sensing my emotions and changing your course. Therefore, I will only guide you when you need it.'_ He said sagely.

Naruto sighed again. _'Well then by all means guide me.'_ The blonde boy feigned indifference even though he was secretly happy Gilgamesh wasn't just some machine made to answer his questions.

_'Very well.'_ The sword spirit would not allow any amount of annoyance appear in his voice. _As you develop you will gain new swords and new abilities for each. For example, if you notice the only way you can recall the God Eater is if it is directly in your hands.'_

_'I didn't notice, but now that you mention it I did have to hold it to bring it back.'_ Naruto hadn't had time to practice with the sword yet so he doesn't know all of its abilities.

_'Yes, but eventually you can dissipate the sword and recall it back to your hand at will even if you are not holding it. With enough practice you will find there are many subtle intricacies to using the six swords of the Gilgamesh.'_

Naruto still didn't understand why his sword came with a user's manual named Gilgamesh, but he appreciated the help. _'Cool! So what are the other swords and how do I get them?'_

Gilgamesh would have smiled at the boy's excitement if he had the mouth to do so. Alas, he is only a spirit so he resumed his aloof conversation with Naruto. _'At the moment you have only obtained God Eater. There are five more swords you will be able to unlock once you have undergone the necessary emotional duress to bring them forth. I cannot tell you what they are, what they do, or specifically how you obtain them for it would be detrimental to your growth.'_

'_Awwww come on! Just tell me!'_ Naruto whined.

'_I cannot, for doing that may cause you to pre-emptively summon a sword for which you are not ready. However there is something very important you must know immediately. One of the swords you have yet to acquire is carrying another spirit.'_ He said in an odd tone. Naruto knew he was trying to hide something, but Gilgamesh was a brick wall of detachment.

'_Another spirit? Like you?'_ Naruto questioned.

Gilgamesh did his best to hide his disdain from entering his voice at this accusation. _'He is in no way __like me. The previous owner of the sword was supposed to be a hero. However because of certain events he became a villain of the highest competence. Although he was defeated, his spirit has latched to his sword. He has followed it through time and now it rests within you.'_

'_There's a villain inside me!'_ Naruto screamed in disgust as he patted himself.

'_I will warn you before you bring out the sword containing his spirit. But know this..'_ Naruto was beginning to worry. _'If his will is stronger than yours than he will consume your body and use it as his own.'_

Naruto gulped. _'And if that happens?'_ The blonde boy asked slowly.

The spirit was silent for a moment. _'If that happens you will be locked away forever and he will resume his quest. He will take this planet in the name of his calamitous mother and ride it through the cosmos. There will be nothing remaining of this earth or its people.'_

Naruto thought about his situation for a moment. If he isn't careful then not only will he lose his body, but it will be used to attack everyone he loves. Could he really have something that powerful inside of him?

Without a single worry he cast aside his doubt. That will only be the outcome if he isn't strong enough. _'My will is stronger than some jerk-off momma's boy who won't let go of his sword!'_ The blue eyed boy mentally yelled and Gilgamesh silently appreciated the boy's vigor.

'_Very well._' Feeling his job completed Gilgamesh remained quiet.

'_Hey Gilgamesh?'_ Naruto spoke softly.

'_How may I be of assistance?'_

'_Thanks. You know. For warning me and stuff.' _

There was a calm silence between the two for a while. _'There is no need for thanks. I will do everything I can to ensure your choices are your own._' As Naruto smiled, Gilgamesh basked in the warmth of the child's happiness. The boy truly was an excellent host.

The jinchuuriki just laughed. _'You could just say you're welcome you know.'_ With those final words Naruto left his trance to return to the world of the conscious.

With his container no longer listening Gilgamesh felt like he was allowed to think freely. _'An excellent child indeed.'_

(line break)

Kakashi was walking down a dirt road with his blonde charge on his back. Naruto still hadn't come out of his self induced trance yet and the scarecrow ninja was beginning to worry, but they needed to leave for the land of waves so Kakashi picked him up and carried him piggy back. The Cyclops ninja could still hear Naruto's faint breathing so he at least knew the boy was alive. Still, the fear of this 'Gilgamesh' was haunting him.

If this was just a ploy by the Kyuubi then who knows what was going to happen. He may lose Naruto and that is something he couldn't allow. If one thing seems off about this new entity then this mission is aborted immediately and Tazuna is on his own.

'_You're just as much trouble as your father.'_ He let his thoughts run to his former master. _'I may not have been able to help you sensei, but I'll be damned if anyone is going to hurt your son.'_

Naruto began to shift around on his instructors back so Kakashi stopped to ease him down. As soon as the jonin set him on the ground Naruto's eyes fluttered open to see his team looking over him. "Are you okay Naruto?" Sakura may have thought he was annoying, but when her teammates pass out like he did, she reserved the right to worry. The pinkette was already down on one knee to help him up.

Naruto slung his arm around her shoulder and lifted himself. He didn't need help, but any excuse to touch Sakura was worth it for him. "I'm okay. Thanks Sakura-chan." Sasuke turned around quickly, but Naruto smirked as he saw the hint of worry on his face before he spun.

Once Sakura had Naruto up she let go of him and he firmly stood on both feet. Kakashi took this time to usher him off to the side so the other two genin and Tazuna couldn't hear their conversation. "So Naruto. What can you tell me?" He said lazily, but was actually very anxious.

"Well…" Naruto thought for a second. "Whoever Gilgamesh is he doesn't mean me any harm. I didn't find out much about him, but he told me a bit about the sword." Naruto said non-chalantly.

Kakashi sighed in relief. "So he didn't ask you for anything? No favors for his services?" He questioned.

Naruto looked slightly annoyed. "I don't know what you think he's trying to do, but it seems like the only thing he plans on doing is answering my questions."

Kakashi waved his hands in front of his face and gave Naruto a nervous eye smile. "Alright I'm just making sure. No need to get riled up." The cyclops man lazily drawled out.

Naruto huffed and turned around to walk back to the group with Kakashi in tow. When they arrived the silver haired jonin spoke up. "Okay everyone. Let's continue on to Wave Country." He said while ushering everyone down the path towards their destination and possible doom.

(line break)

It didn't take them too much longer to arrive to the boat that would take them to the Wave. Once they were all aboard and started paddling towards the island Tazuna decided now was a good time to bring up something important. "Hey Brat." He said to the blonde jinchuuriki as the boat gently rocked back and forth.

Naruto turned to him with a pout. "What do you want Old Man?" He said with a hiss.

"How much did you say that sword of yours weighs? About fifty thousand right?" Naruto nodded in response. "Just to be clear. You know you can't take that thing out while you're indoors right. The buildings can't handle that kind of weight. They're only made of wood you know."

Naruto hadn't thought about it, but Tazuna was right. "Don't worry I won't." He said to the old drunkard.

"Also, I can't let you use it while you're on my bridge either. It can't handle fifty thousand pounds in point placement yet. The amount of pressure your feet would exert would tear my bridge to shreds if you took one step on it with that sword on your back." He said in a commanding tone. If the group of ninja was surprised that the old drunk could sound professional for once, they didn't show it.

"Fine. Fine." Naruto brushed him off.

Kakashi spoke up. "Well that's unfortunate because if Zabuza attacks us anywhere it would probably be on the bridge." He said carelessly while he leaned back in the boat and read his smut.

Everyone froze. "Kakashi-sensei." The pink haired girl said.

"Hmm?" He knew what she was going to say, but it's fun to play the lazy jonin.

"Zabuza is dead. You killed him." Sakura said fearfully.

Kakashi never raised an eye off of his book. "He's not dead. That hunter ninja that took him was a fake. We probably have about…" He looked to the sky and tilted his head in thought. ".. two weeks before he comes back to kill Tazuna." He said as he turned another page in his smut and giggled at an especially dirty scene.

The troupe stared him. "Why the hell are you so calm!" Sakura yelled at her sensei. Naruto winced at the volume of her voice and rubbed his ears in pain. She yelled too damn much. At least this time she's yelling Kakashi and not him.

He closed his book and turned to face everyone. "Because we're going to be ready." Kakashi put his deluxe edition copy of Icha Icha into a special pouch on is belt. "Alright I think it's time for me to tell you a little bit your new training regimen." The genin's faces lit up like Christmas trees at the word training. Naruto was happy because he it was another chance to prove himself, Sakura was blissful because she loved to learn, and Sasuke was pleased because he enjoyed preparing himself to kill Itachi. It was a win-win for everyone.

Naruto couldn't contain himself. "Yeah Kakashi-sensei! Finally some real training!"

As Kakashi looked at the young group he had to smile under his mask. With his teaching he knew they could go far. He made need some help with Sakura's tutelage, but he was confident in her abilities. "Alright settle down Naruto. This is just the overview of what you'll be doing. First thing we have to do is get settled in once we make it to the island. Then we can train."

Naruto crossed his arms. "Aww come on. I wanna train!" He said in a huff.

"Just shut up and let him talk!" Sakura yelled at her teammate while simultaneously sharing his enthusiasm. On the down low of course.

Naruto made an over exaggerated sad face, but didn't say anything. Kakashi took this as his cue to begin. "First thing you need to know is our rotations. Every day I will take two of you with me to the bridge to help guard Tazuna while he continues construction. Whoever is not on guard duty will train. When the work day is over we will meet up and have group training. Understood?" The three genin nodded. "Ok then let's start with the group training before I get into individual tasks." He could see the coast line of their destination quickly approaching. "All of you will perform the tree walking exercise together, which I will show you later today. It will help with chakra control and is an invaluable tool in many situations. Besides that the only other team training we will do is formations and some sparring."

He turned his head and looked at the blonde boy. "As for individual exercises I will start with you Naruto." The hyper genin gave him a beaming smile. "That sword you have is an odd addition to our group. I have training with a nodachi so I can give you the basics of swordplay, but we will have to find you a teacher when we return to Konoha. However that's not the real problem."

The boy nodded his head in understanding. "Yeah I know. I can't even stand on solid ground while I'm holding God Eater let alone attack someone with it." Naruto said despairingly.

Kakashi gave him an eye smile. "That's okay Naruto. I can fix that."

The blonde boy's spirit's picked up right away. "Really? How?"

"Once you learn the tree walking exercise I'll tell you." He said to the boy knowing it would spur him on to finish the chakra control training as quick as possible.

"I'll be done before you can blink! Believe it!" Naruto said as he threw his fist into the air.

Kakashi smiled and turned to the pinkette. "Okay Sakura." She turned to him with an excited look on her face. "I'm going to teach you genjutsu. Just a few basic illusions at first, but they are critical in our defense. If Zabuza or the hunter ninja with him somehow get around the offensive force of our team your genjutsu will be Tazuna's only protection. Even a small illusion will give you the time needed to escape or at least buy some time to make a new plan."

She was proud and nervous that if all else were to fail she was the hinge pin in their plans. "Hai Kakashi-sensei."

He looked to the black haired Uchiha. "Sasuke." The onyx eyed boy looked his sensei in the eye. "I will teach you some higher level mid range fire jutsu. The three of you together will make an unbeatable combo." He reassured them with his eye smile jutsu.

Kakashi was going to train these kids right. He didn't want their time as a team to be like his was. Full of pain and heartache. _'Obito. Rin. Sensei. Please protect them.'_

(line break)

Shortly after the training regimen was set, the boat reached the dock and the group set out to Tazuna's abode while he gave them a small tour of his village. Within the hour the team was already outside Tazuna's house training.

After Kakashi showed them the tree walking exercise, it only took Sakura twenty minutes to get it down. Naruto appreciated her unbelievable control over her chakra. He shot her a few compliments in between the glares that he sent towards Sasuke. The loner Uchiha would just scoff and continue his training, which he didn't realize would only drive Naruto harder.

Even with Naruto's unbelievable persistence he was still losing to Sasuke. He noticed that at the moment he was at least five feet below the top rated genin of the year. If his lazy jonin sensei didn't walk off he could have asked him for a tip, but for now he's got no help. _'Wait! Sakura's already got it! She must know how to help!'_ He looked over to see the pink haired girl silently watching her black haired crush with a blush splayed across her face. Naruto jumped to the girl. "Hey Sakura-chan!"

"Ahhh!" She snapped out of her trance and fell back onto the ground. "Don't scare me like that Baka!" She said as she held her hand against her chest to feel her rapidly beating heart.

Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I was just wondering if you could help me with my training."

She raised an eyebrow. "Umm sure. I guess. What do you need?"

He gave her a wide grin. "How'd you do it? I can't figure it out for the life of me."

She giggled a bit until she saw his pouty face. "Okay. Do you know how chakra works?"

He scratched his head. "Well yeah. Maybe not the textbook definition, but I understand the idea of how it works." He said with a happy face.

She smiled at him. "Well since chakra is the combination of physical and spiritual energies I figured out that a balance between the two parts is all that I needed. The balance depends on the total energies of each person so until you find your own center you will have to keep practicing. Once I had the correct percentages I concentrated chakra at my feet and used it as an adhesive to cling to surfaces. It should work the same way for you if you can find your balance point." She said as she started walking towards the tree he had been using to train.

"If you look at your tree we can tell what needs..." Sakura gasped when she saw what Naruto did to his Oak. She ran her hands across the deep ugly scars he left in the wake of his training and gave Naruto a bewildered look. The entire tree was trashed and most certainly would not make it through the rest of Naruto's training.

"What?" Naruto asked sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably.

Some of the breaks in the tree were big enough to fit her fist through. _'How much chakra does he have?'_ She noticed she must look pretty stupid as she caught herself staring at Naruto. "Oh uh... as you can see you left chakra scars..." She turned to the tree and trailed off again as she got lost in thinking about the amount of power her blonde friend held.

Naruto waved a hand in front of her face. "Helloooo?"

She blushed in embarrassment as she was caught drifting off again. The pinkette cleared her throat. "You left these chakra scars. See?" She pointed to the deep gashes and he nodded in kind. "Because of that we know you used way too much chakra when you tried to cling to the tree. Next time try to reel back your chakra output and see what happens."

Naruto nodded and moved to his starting position under the tree. With a quick crossing of his hands he was ready to try climbing again. He dashed seven feet higher before he shot off the trunk this time. Sakura smirked at his results. _'I'm so awesome.'_ She thought to herself.

The second Naruto hit the ground he was on Sakura like white on rice. She was wrapped up in the biggest, warmest hug she could imagine. "You're awesome Sakura-chan!" The blonde genin said as he swayed her around in his arms.

"I know! Now put me down before I kick your ass!" She screamed at him as she flailed around in his arms. He set her down and gave her a huge grin before dashing off to train some more. Sakura sat back down to watch Sasuke again, but from then on she threw a couple glances Naruto's way.

(line break)

Before long a routine had been set. One person trains and two guard Tazuna. Once the work day was done the whole team trained together. Kakashi was impressed at their teamwork as they continued to make huge strides.

Even Sasuke was becoming a team player. To everyone's surprise, shortly after Sakura helped Naruto, he finished the tree climbing exercise. No one thought he would finish before the black haired prodigy would, but lo and behold Naruto was sitting on top of the tree grinning at Sakura as she smiled back at him from the ground. Sasuke hadn't been making much progress, but instead of being a little emo baby he actually asked Naruto for help! It shocked everyone, but Naruto helped him without patronizing or making fun of him and shortly after that Sasuke finished the exercise as well.

Kakashi approached Naruto soon after he learned to climb trees without using hands and told him the secret to using the God Eater. "Naruto."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei!" He questioned excitedly because he knew it was time to learn how to use his massive sword without sinking into the ground.

"Now that you can concentrate chakra at your feet you are one step closer to standing on solid ground with your sword. Take what you know about tree climbing and expand on that principal." He said to the young boy.

"How?" Naruto asked.

The one eyed man flicked him on the forehead. "Do just as I said. Expand the chakra at your feet to cover more area. The larger the area you cover, the more your weight is dispersed. The reason you sink is because your feet put the weight in one place and the ground can't handle that kind of concentrated pressure. Expand your chakra to cover more surface area and your problem is solved." He rubbed his chin in thought. "I still don't think you can use your sword in a house or on the bridge though. Neither one of those places can handle fifty thousand more pounds of weight no matter where you disperse it to. Unless you gain enough experience to cover the ground under the house."

The sensei smiled at his student's back as Naruto didn't even say a word before dashing off to train. In the distance he could hear the blonde boy faintly yell to him. "Thanks Kakashi-sensei!"

And so things continued like this. After about a week and a half Naruto had picked up a few sword skills, but nothing major because Kakashi didn't know how to use such a large sword. Sakura learned some genjutsu that effect chakra sense, hearing, sight, and smell. And Sasuke picked up some nice fire based jutsu for his arsenal.

It took a full two weeks before any more trouble started.

(line break)

It was Naruto's turn to train while the rest of his team guarded Tazuna. He had just finished up some training with God Eater and was returning to Tsunami's house for some grub when two thugs showed up. One had clown makeup on and the other was shirtless and covered in scars. What Naruto noticed first is they were both carrying swords, but it seemed like they didn't have much, if any, formal training with them. "Hey boy! Where's the lady and the kid that live here? We have some..." They chuckled. "business to discuss with them."

It was easy to tell these guys were up to no good. He could almost guarantee they worked for Gato. "They're not here right now. Maybe you should just discuss this 'business' with me." Naruto said as he sent them a glare.

Both of their faces hardened. "You better watch it you little shit or we just might!" One of the men yelled as they both pulled out swords. Naruto sighed and walked towards them with both hands in the pockets of his orange jacket. "Hey back off kid!" The blonde boy didn't slow his gait. "I said back off or we'll cut you!" They threatened apprehensively as they sloppily took their stances.

Naruto stopped five feet in front of them and extended his right arm like he was going to shake their hands. The men were so confused they slightly lowered their swords to look at each other. They didn't even think twice when Naruto took one more step forward. "God Eater." The two thugs watched as a hilt appeared in the hand they thought was meant for them to shake. They had no time to react as a five foot mechanical battering ram shot out of the hilt and rested right between them. Before for either of the men could move or retaliate the genin simultaneously released the sword and jumped into the air.

"Ahh!" The two wannabee samurai screamed as the giant sword Naruto was holding hit the ground and formed a crater, into which they promptly fell. As the men at the bottom of the crater squirmed around trying to recover Naruto pounced and knocked them out with a few quick punches to the jaw.

The blue eyed genin grabbed the hilt of his sword and dismissed it before tying up both of the thugs. _'If these guys are here that must mean Gato is attacking!'_ Naruto started jumping towards the bridge. _'I have to help my team!'_

(line break)

**Bridge**

Kakashi saw the ice mirrors form around Sasuke and he worriedly moved to help his stranded genin, before he could even take a single step towards the dome a giant cleaver swung across his midsection causing him to jump back and regroup. _'Damn! I can't help Sasuke until I take care of Zabuza.'_ The cyclops quickly formulated a plan. "Sakura! Stay by Tazuna and guard him!" He yelled to the pinkette standing in front of the bridge builder.

She nodded back. "Hai Kakashi sensei!" The small girl moved into a defensive position and pushed Tazuna as far as she could away from the fight.

The man with a giant cleaver stepped forward. "Aww Copy Cat are you having this little girl do all the work for you?" He laughed as mist began to slowly creep around them, reducing visibility.

Kakashi glared. "I'm not letting you get away this time Zabuza." He said as he unveiled his sharingan. The fog created by Zabuza had now almost entirely covered the bridge turned battleground.

"Oh no one's going anywhere Kakashi." The mist had now become so thick that the scarecrow ninja could no longer see his enemy. "Of that I am positive." Zabuza's voice seemed to come from everywhere at once. Almost as if he was a part of the mist itself.

Kakashi could no longer sense his enemy. It didn't matter though. It's obvious to him where Zabuza is going to strike because the jonin knew his opponent is going to do the same thing he would do in this situation. Complete his mission. _'Tazuna.'_

Kakashi immediately rushed over to Sakura and the bridge builder to sense for his enemy. Almost as soon as he arrived by his genin's side the man with the giant cleaver swung his sword in an attempt to halve everyone there. He quickly pulled out a reinforced kunai and stopped the giant sword from cutting the crew into pieces, but received a cut on his arm as compensation.

Once Zabuza heard his sword cut into flesh he quickly jumped away into the mist, again disappearing from sight and sense. "Well it seems that little eye of yours can't work when you can't see me huh Kakashi?" The invisible voice taunted. "Oh and what's this?" He said as he wiped the edge of his blade and watched the blood drip off his fingers. "Looks like I nicked ya!" He guffawed as loud as he could to add to his taunt.

Kakashi listened to the echoing voice of Zabuza with a smirk on his face. "Thank you for making this easy for me. KUCHIYOSE NO JUTSU!" The one eyed man yelled as he slammed his hand into the ground.

The faint noise of soft growls and padded feet ran through the mist followed by a loud yell. "Rahh!" Kakashi moved towards Zabuza's scream as the mist slowly started to clear away. After a few moments the thick fog cleared enough to show Zabuza caught between the large jowls of four ferocious dogs.

Kakashi stepped forward with an outstretched hand to form a raikiri and deliver the finishing blow. He didn't want to waste any more time with Zabuza because he knew his genin needed help. A short while ago Kakashi felt Naruto's chakra move into the dome, but he still wasn't sure if it would be enough. They were only genin and he was quite sure the hunter ninja was around a jonin level. "Zabuza. You have attempted to kill me and you have threatened my genin. For that I cannot let..."

BOOM!

The one eyed jonin was interrupted as the small amount of mist that was left over from Zabuza's jutsu was blown away by a large explosion. Kakashi turned his head in fear as two black spiraling towers of chakra shot into the sky about a hundred feet to his left. However, the peaks of energy weren't what frightened him. It was the point of origin. "Sasuke! Naruto!"

A thousand scenarios played through Kakashi's head. _'Is this the hunter ninja's jutsu?'_ He quickly dismissed the thought for a more plausible one. _'The Kyuubi has broken free!'_ The only rationalization he had for this conclusion was the pure evil that was emanating from the twin spirals. The pillars of shadow had now reached the sky and the once previously lighted area became coldly dark. Such thick clouds formed above his head that he could no longer tell if the sun was ever out.

Kakashi moved forward to quickly kill Zabuza so he could save the genin, but before he could budge an object lightly grazed his face and fell to the ground. Kakashi dropped to one knee and picked up the offending item. "A feather?" In his hand he twirled a black feather black and forth. The silver haired jonin looked up to the sky and gasped. "What is going on?"

Black feathers poured down around him.

(line break)

Sasuke was having the fight of his life. This hunter ninja was good. Too good. Nothing he tried seemed to work. Even if he managed to crack an ice mirror it was quickly regenerated. _'Damn. The best I can do is hold him off. He's just too fast!'_ Sasuke thought to himself as he dodged another wave of senbon. _'At this rate he's going to get me.'_ The Uchiha let out a loud yell as three metal needles were imbedded into his leg. The black haired boy quickly pulled them out and dodged the next set of projectiles the hunter ninja threw at him.

Sasuke looked around as the robed hunter appeared in every mirror that surrounded him. "You may as well give up." Haku said emotionlessly. "Your potential is great, but at this point my powers far outweigh yours. You cannot win." Sasuke growled in response and whipped a kunai at the mirror on his left. The kunai sunk into the reflection of his enemy, but after a moment it is pushed out and the mirror rebuilt itself. "It is futile." The reflections all stated as they readied their senbon for a final assault.

Sasuke prepared himself for the onslaught he knew was coming his way until he heard the familiar life saving scream of his teammate. "Rahhh!" A spinning Naruto holding God Eater made his way onto the scene destroying three mirrors in the process. Before the blonde boy hit the ground he dispersed his sword. "Whew that was close! Don't want to exceed the weight capacity haha." He said while comically wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.

Sasuke stared at him angrily. "Dobe." He said with his teeth clenched. Naruto turned to him with a blank expression on his face. "Why didn't you attack from the outside while I assaulted from the inside!" Sasuke yelled.

Naruto scoffed in return. "Sorry for being worried about my teammate... jackass." He said sarcastically.

"You son of a..." Sasuke caught himself and calmed down so he could explain the situation they were now in. "Whatever. What you need to know is that this guy is very fast. He moves from mirror to mirror while attacking with senbon." He pointed to the spot where Naruto came crashing in. The mirrors he destroyed were already reforming. "And if we somehow destroy a mirror he has the ability to repair them. The only option we have is to catch him when he moves, but unfortunately I can't even see him. He is too fast."

Naruto scratched his chin and after a moment of silent deliberation he put his finger in the air as if he just formulated a plan. Sasuke looked at him expectantly. "Well I don't know what to do so I'm gonna wing it." The black haired boy dropped his head in anger. "And since this bridge can't support the weight of God Eater I guess I only have one choice. KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Thirty Naruto clones formed around him and Sasuke couldn't help, but to appreciate his teammate's chakra levels.

The clones attempted to attack every mirror at the same time to find the enemy ninja, but every time they got close they were destroyed by a hail of senbon. Naruto repeated his clone attack four times before Sasuke spoke up. "Naruto stop. Attacking every mirror like this is a good plan, but it's not working." The black haired boy put his hand on his friends shoulder and pulled out a few senbon that were lodged in his back.

Naruto glared up at him. "I won't give up! KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" Naruto tried again, but the results were just like they were before.

Naruto came crashing down to Sasuke's feet riddled with senbon. _'Why won't he ever quit?'_ Sasuke looked down at the blonde boy as he began to rise to his feet again and the Uchiha clenched his fist in anger. _'What am I doing? I can't just sit here while Naruto outperforms me! I am an Uchiha! It's time for me to act like it!'_ He watched Naruto attack and get beat down once more. This time the blonde genin wasn't quickly rising to his feet. "Naruto!" Sasuke yelled as he quickly went to his friend's aide.

Naruto was breathing heavy from receiving a senbon that grazed his lung. He had no idea the Kyuubi had already started to heal him, but that was beside the point. The black haired boy hovered over his blonde counterpart and quickly removed as many senbon as he could. "Looks like that last one really got me huh?" He rasped out to his onyx eyed teammate.

Sasuke stared down at his friend in frustration. "How dare you." Naruto quirked an eyebrow because he thought Sasuke was talking to him. He wasn't. The black haired boy looked up at the hunter ninja in the mirrors and his face reflected nothing but pure rage.

The masked ninja Haku looked back at the Uchiha. "We are shinobi. We are tools. You should realize that death is a part of our existence. It is the reason for which we were created." Haku said in his machine like voice. "Now it is time for you both to die." He formed more ice senbon in his hands and began to strike.

The hunter threw the ice shards and with no trouble at all Sasuke deflected them. As the enemy tried to move to another mirror Sasuke noticed something odd. He could see! The robed ninja was no longer a blur. In fact, now the enemy seemed to be moving in slow motion. The Uchiha didn't even realize his bloodline had finally awakened and two tomoe spun in the direction of his enemy.

After a few rounds with the rogue ninja, Sasuke realized was holding his own, but the constant lookout for his downed friend made it hard for him to effectively counter Haku. Just as he feared, a wave of senbon made their way towards Naruto's prone body. _'Shit!'_ In one swift move Sasuke threw a kunai into Haku's leg and covered his teammate with his own body.

The dueling ninja both hit the ground with a groan of pain. Sasuke fell onto his stomach with his head turned towards Naruto and deep cerulean eyes met with dark onyx. The blonde boy felt pressure well up in his chest as he lay next to his battered friend. His first and best friend.

Sasuke had blood dripping from everywhere it could escape. Besides from the multiple cuts, the thick crimson substance was seeping out of his nose, eyes, and ears almost as if there was a pressure in his head pushing it out. "Why?" Naruto asked lightly.

"I… I don't know." Sasuke said between pained and ragged breaths. "My body just moved on its own." The sharingan user's eyes began to close. "Sorry….. dobe." He said before his eyelids draped shut for what Naruto thought was the last time. Naruto couldn't have known Sasuke wasn't dead. He couldn't have known that the robed hunter ninja actually didn't want to hurt or kill them. It almost makes one feel sorry for Haku. He just didn't know what was coming.

The wide blue eyes of the young genin darted back and forth in a panic before they locked onto the slowly recovering Haku who just made his way into an ice mirror. "You!" Naruto screamed as he began to convulse in a seizure like frenzy. His anger and rage were so strong. He had never felt like this before.

Haku's reflection was in every mirror and as Naruto looked at his friend's killer silently watching him, he had no way to describe the pure scorn he felt for the man.

Hate filled him. Not just anger anymore. Rage couldn't describe it either. What he was enduring was so much stronger than anything he had ever experienced. It was like pure concentrated loathing poured off of Naruto as he gazed at his enemy.

The blonde boy's body lurched forward. "Stay down or I will kill you as well." Haku said to hopefully scare the boy into staying on the ground. Naruto stood up, his bangs covering his eyes and the senbon wielding ninja prepared some ice darts to incapacitate the jinchuuriki if he wouldn't comply with his wishes.

The voice of Gilgamesh returned. _'Do you remember what I told you about the other spirit?'_

'…'

'_This sword was not meant to be awoken so soon.'_

'…'

His container's hate was too powerful. Gilgamesh's pleas went unheard. _'It is time. I hope your will is stronger than his.'_

A new voice made its way into Naruto's thoughts. Unlike God Eater which sounded like a crescendo of a thousand voices ready to revolt, this time there was only one voice. It was a deep, calculating voice that was so inviting it was as if Naruto couldn't resist it.

'_I will never be a memory.'_

Naruto's hands were covered in a sick darkness. His aura produced a mist of suppressing black mist, which began to creep around the battleground staining whatever it touched. Haku strained his ears to hear what Naruto was saying as the young man's shadowed hand reached forward.

"Masamune."

In an instant Naruto was surrounded by what appeared to be a solid black orb as two spirals of power shot out around him and into the sky.

Haku stared in awe of the raw power that the black globe in front of him exuded. Lightning crackled around the sphere as the bridge shook from the force of the spirals shooting into the heavens. As the pillars began to recede back into their focal point, the black bubble began to change shape. From what Haku could tell the orb was beginning to become more human in form. First arms, then legs, and finally a head protruded from the blackness, until ultimately a fully grown man stood inside the mirrors.

The man standing center stage looked nothing like Naruto. Haku quickly glanced around to see if he could find the blonde boy, but there was nothing. He could no longer sense the jinchuuriki at all. In place of the boy now stood a six foot two man outfitted with garments unlike anything Haku has ever seen. His clothes seemed to be made of some sort of black leather, but the designs held no nationality or creed. His long silver hair sat elegantly across the white pauldrons adorning his shoulders as the darkened sky set beautifully against his pale, unmarred skin. The look this man held was somewhat effeminate, but he reeked of raw power. The masked ninja could tell that, underneath this newcomer's skinny frame and porcelain skin, there was a powerhouse of energy.

Everything about the silver haired man screamed regality as he stood with perfect posture and an unflinching face of covered emotion. If Haku didn't know he was in deep shit he would've sat a while longer to enjoy the man's features, but now that he was in real danger he had to remove the threat.

The tall man looked down at his hands and turned them back and forth. "It appears my will is stronger than the boys." The man's deep voice reverberated off of the ice mirrors startling Haku into an attack. The hunter ninja threw a barrage of ice senbon at the newcomer in hopes of injuring him. The silver haired man stared Haku down with his green, cat slitted eyes as the masked hunter threw his senbon at him. Haku couldn't see a hint of doubt or hesitation inside the man's cold, lifeless orbs as the ice shards came speeding towards his chest.

A stirring on the backside of the silver haired beauty caught Haku's attention. In the blink of an eye all of his senbon were deflected by a single large black wing jutting out of the cat eyed man's back. Raven feathers fell to the ground as the man slowly pulled his stunning wing behind him; the two warriors locked eyes and Haku could feel the dreadful stare that meant his certain doom. "You are a pest." The man quietly said as his wing shot out straight behind him in an arc and broke an entire side of ice mirrors.

Haku watched in terror as the man casually swept his wing across the arena, destroying every single mirror like he was brushing dust off of his shoulder.

(line break)

Kakashi saw the wing stick out of the dome of mirrors and then proceed to destroy everything in the vicinity. However, instead of finding a possessed Kyuubi-Naruto, he found a man clad in black leather standing in the spot he thought he felt Naruto's chakra. Kakashi confusedly looked around for his blonde genin. He could swear he was just here a moment ago, but now all he could feel was a terrible aura coating his senses. He abandoned his search for Naruto for the time being to concentrate on the new man in front of him. Kakashi didn't know what was going on, but he knew it was bad.

An unconscious Haku came crashing down in front of the one eyed jonin. It appears that as the pale skinned man destroyed the mirrors he must have launched the hunter ninja away like a rocket in the process.

Kakashi looked up to find the long haired man walking out of the wreckage he had caused. The dome had been turned to dust under the might of his wing as shining specks of what was left of the mirrors swirled around the pale man's frame. The jonin looked behind the man and saw an unconscious Sasuke who appeared to not be breathing. "Who are you and what have you done to my genin?" Kakashi yelled.

The skinny man gave a small creepy smile and held his hand forward. "Masamune." His deep voice cut to the bone. A black cloth bound hilt formed from nothing in his palm and milliseconds later a seven foot katana shot out. The new sword gleamed an eerie silver and looked polished to a mirror sheen, but in its reflection Kakashi didn't see himself, he only saw his own death.

"Sin…"* With that word a black chakra began to form around the man and he began to float above them. Kakashi stared on as the darkness whipped violently around. He didn't notice it right away, but above the one eyed ninja's head was a golden halo. Everyone had one. Tazuna, Sakura, Zabuza, Haku, Kakashi, and even his ninja dogs now had a shining crown hovering a foot above their heads. The only people who didn't have one were the one winged man and the seemingly dead Sasuke. The frightened people hysterically tried to remove them from above their skulls only to find that they could not. Kakashi had no other choice; he had to attack the man before he finished whatever it was he was doing. He leaped towards him, but it was too late. The black chakra suddenly died down and with it went all sound. Everyone on the bridge, no matter how far they were away, could hear the man as he spoke his next words. "… harvest angel."

The instant he muttered his last word it felt like life itself had been forcibly ripped from their bodies. No one was left standing. The summons poofed away leaving Zabuza panting on the ground with the rest of the group. As Kakashi laid on the ground gasping for air he tried to comprehend what just happened. _'Every ounce of my chakra gone! The only thing left is my life chakra. I can barely move!'_ He thought to himself as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a soldier pill. He popped it in his mouth and felt his chakra begin to slowly return.

With labored breaths Kakashi got on all fours. Before he could stand he heard the soft thump of rubber soles hitting the bridge and as he looked forward he saw a pair of black boots standing two feet in front of him. Slowly he lifted his head until caught the indifferent stare of the pale skinned man. There was no doubt in his mind as to what was coming next.

"Stubborn I see." The long haired man said as he lifted his sword above his head to strike. Kakashi tried to fight, but it was useless. He was going to die bowing his head to a man he doesn't even know. He was seconds away from death and he had no chakra to retaliate, nor did he have the will.

It was then Kakashi had a savior. "Haha thanks boy." The one eyed ninja looked up at his executioner to see his attention diverted to another side of the bridge. He turned to see none other than Gato standing in front of at least a hundred armed thugs ready to overtake them. "You took care of all my business for me. Thanks, but now it's your turn to die." The short man had no idea what he was getting into.

The skinny silver haired man paused for a moment before he started to walk towards the army of thugs. "You are traitors." He said causing some of the men to tremble.

Gato smirked. "We're not traitors. Just business men." He guffawed as the men readied their weapons.

The man's pace increased slightly and his sword moved to his side. "You abandoned this planet and have betrayed it. You are traitors… And Mother would like me to kill you."

Gato doesn't normally feel the need to defend himself, but today felt different. He wasn't sure quite why though. "I told you its just business! What part of that is not getting through to you!" He yelled. "It's irrelevant anyways. You're gonna die with the rest of them!"

It seemed the silver haired man ignored the short tyrant as he spoke again. "But do not fret. For soon you will return to the planet and become a part of something greater; a part of me." He said as he stopped twenty feet in front of the group. The cat eyed man stared them down for what felt like an eternity before simply turning around and walking back towards Kakashi without saying a word.

Kakashi looked at the man in surprise. _'Idle threats? No... Something's wrong._' Before he could finish his thought he heard a wave of blood crash in the direction of Gato. With wide eyes he looked at the havoc that had been wrought to the 'business men.'

The scene was gruesome. Where one hundred fully grown men once stood, there is now only a fifty foot pile of limbs and torsos. There were legs, arms, hands, chests, heads, and other body parts all haphazardly thrown into a heap. Blood gushed from the severed divisions as the crimson substance poured from the pile of flesh and flooded Kakashi's feet. A literal waterfall of blood fell off of the bridge causing the river to turn an ugly shade of red. The seasoned jonin paled at the sight. It is unfortunate, but he has seen worse than this. _'Shit! I didn't see him move!'_ The lack of chakra dulled his senses and because of this Kakashi couldn't even keep up with the speed of a chuunin at the moment.

The cyclops turned his head when he heard Sakura and Tazuna wretch. They were both trying to crawl away from the encroaching blood coming from the mountain of mutilation. It was much too early for her to see something like this, but she is going to have to toughen up if she wants to make it as a ninja. Still, he didn't want this for his genin.

A maniacal laugh caught Kakashi's attention. "Oh man." Zabuza spoke up from his position on the ground as he looked Kakashi in the eye. "In our fight when I said no one was going anywhere, I never thought it would include me." He laughed again and turned to lie on his back. "What a way to go." He said in a melancholy tone. A soft thump was heard as the demon of the mist's head dropped to the ground in compliance with his fate.

Kakashi knew what the jonin of the mist was feeling. At any other time they both would have risen to fight this monstrosity, but their willingness to fight seemed to drain with their chakra. All that is left in them now is despair. The jonin watched the pale man approach him. His slow pace made it feel like he was mocking him one last time before he killed him and the uncaring eyes of the silver haired death machine showed Kakashi that he was the next victim of this holocaust.

Then, for no apparent reason, he walked right past Kakashi. He was so certain of his death and now the man didn't seem to care at all. He confusedly watched the long silver hair sway at his enemies back and wondered why he was showing mercy until the sound of a young man coughing filled his ears. "Sasuke!"

The black haired Uchiha was finally beginning to catch his breath after it had been slowed to almost nothing by Haku's senbon. He still wasn't conscious, but his body began to shake as it regained mobility, which was enough to tip off the pale man that he was still amongst the living. Something he would soon correct.

"It seems you have survived." The man said as he stopped in front of the genin and heaved his long thin blade above his head. "Pity."

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed as the sword began to descend upon her crush.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. "Naruto!" He yelled to his transformed friend and the sword paused a foot from his face. The man growled and chopped the sharp weapon down again in hopes of finishing the sharingan user, but again his arm wouldn't let him do it.

Over and over he tried to bring down the might of Masamune upon Sasuke' head, but every time it was stopped, until finally a strong red and blue chakra surrounded the man's entire left arm. It appeared that this new chakra was suppressing the power of the silver haired killer because the sword he was holding was forcibly shoved back into its hilt.

He didn't panic or get angry. He only observed his chakra covered arm and let loose a frightening half-smile as he got on one knee and dipped closer to the black haired genin. He was so close he almost touched noses with Sasuke and it was beginning to frighten the boy. "I will return for all of you." He said quiet enough so only the black haired genin could hear before slowly standing and resuming his regal posture.

He gave everyone one last dreadful look promising his impending return as his wing wrapped around his body. As soon as the large appendage fully encased him it dissolved in a shower of black feathers, leaving a weakened Naruto falling to the ground.

(line break)

Sasuke was confused about the situation he had just awoken to, but he knew Naruto was falling and needed help. He hadn't even seen the bodies of the bandits yet. He quickly reached forward and caught his plummeting friend. "Thanks teme." Naruto said in a weary voice as the raven haired boy set him down.

Kakashi hobbled his way over to his two genin. "Are you two alright?" They both looked at him and nodded. "What just happened?" The one eyed man said as he looked at Naruto.

The blonde boy mustered up some strength and leaned forward. "Gilgamesh told me not to do it, but I was just so angry." Small tinks were heard as Sasuke pulled the senbon out of his skin and they hit the hard bridge. "I needed to use a new sword because God Eater would destroy the bridge. I didn't think I had a choice."

Kakashi scratched his chin. "So a sword made you transform?"

"Not the sword. There is a spirit inside the sword that took control of me. I thought I could fight him off, but I was wrong." Naruto said with tears in his eyes. "You have no idea what he wanted to do."

"It's okay Naruto." Kakashi said as he moved forward and put his hand the blonde's shoulder. He looked to the other genin. "Sasuke. If you feel up to it could you please check on Sakura and Tazuna."

The Uchiha was still highly confused about what was going on and he didn't want to leave his distraught friend just yet, at least not until he got some answers, but he complied. "Hai Kakashi-sensei." He stood up and left, but gave Naruto a quick look. "Thanks dobe." He said as he turned to leave.

Naruto would've responded, but Kakashi cut him off with a stern stare. "Naruto. What exactly happened? I've felt the chakra that was pouring off of your arm before so don't lie to me because I'll know." He said seriously.

They were so wrapped up in their conversation they didn't hear Sasuke puking as he laid eyes on what was left of the bandits.

Naruto looked down, ashamed of himself. "The Kyuubi talked to me." Naruto waited for a gasp or some sort of reaction to the news, but his sensei looked like he was expecting that answer and sat quietly waiting for the boy to continue. "Together we fought through the evil spirit's power and I took control back."

"Look at me Naruto." The boy lifted his head to lock onto his sensei's one visible eye. "This is very important. What did the Kyuubi say?" He put both his hands on Naruto's shoulders and held the boy in place.

"Nothing really. Just that he was sorry and that this was recom… recomp…"

"Recompense?" Kakashi said confusedly.

"Yeah! Recompense. And then he used his chakra to help me force the sword away."

Kakashi released the boy's shoulder to sit back and the jonin lowered his head in thought. "Recompense? Really?" Naruto heard him mumble a few other unintelligible questions to himself. "It helped?" He said under his breath.

Kakashi never thought the Kyuubi would ever willingly help anyone, or thing, but itself. This goes directly against what happened the day of Naruto's birth. _'Why would it go from trying to destroy all of Konoha to helping the son of the man who sealed him? Let alone apologize to him.'_ A thousand thoughts ran through his head. _'I will have to speak with the Hokage personally about this.'_ He didn't have time to ponder the situation as his musings were cut into by Sasuke's voice.

"Naruto! Could you come here?" Sasuke yelled from his position next to Sakura.

"Hold on!" Naruto yelled back. "Kakashi-sensei? Do you still need me for anything?"

"Huh? Oh uh. No. We can talk more about this later."

"Thanks." The blonde said as he slowly stood with some help from Kakashi.

Kakashi didn't say anything, but he was certain Naruto's voice was lower than it used to be. Also, Naruto looked quite a bit different. _'What is happening to you Naruto?'_ He will talk to the Hokage about this as well, but for now he needed to take care of some unfinished business with Zabuza and his apprentice.

(line break)

Naruto hobbled over to Sasuke to see what was so important that it couldn't wait until later. As he arrived Sasuke shuffled to the side to show a weeping Sakura clutching her shins as tightly as she was able. "Sakura-chan?" He clumsily fell to one knee in front of her. The blonde boy reached forward and put his hand on her shoulder. Her glistening emeralds lifted and bore into his ocean blue eyes. _'Just as breathtaking as ever.'_ Naruto couldn't help, but think she was still so beautiful even though she was crying.

The jinchuuriki glanced at the heap of bodies behind her and frowned. He hadn't noticed it right away, but Sakura's entire backside was covered in blood that wasn't hers. It was then he realized it was his fault she was crying. He was the one who did this.

Naruto knew he was the one who killed all those men because he was forced to watch as a prisoner in his own body while the man sliced through them like butter. It made him sick to know how he was used, but right now he only felt sadness for having exposed his first crush to something so horrible. "I'm so sorry Sakura-chan. I..."

She leaped forward and caught him in a bone crushing hug. Naruto fell onto his ass as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

Sasuke took a knee beside Naruto and Sakura. "She was worried about you." The black haired boy said just before he was pulled to the pinkette and blonde by his collar. Naruto and Sakura put their arms around Sasuke and each other and squeezed as hard as they could. They were so happy everyone was okay they didn't even care Sasuke wasn't hugging them back. He actually was, but they couldn't tell because he didn't squeeze as hard as them.

After a few moments they finally let go of each other and Sakura spoke. "You don't need to apologize Naruto. Just tell me it won't happen again." She said with a pleading look in her eyes as she wiped the tears off of her cheeks. Sakura was honestly scared of the events that just occurred. To be truthful she started crying because of the massacre, but as the man came to strike down Sasuke the only thing she found she was truly afraid of was losing her friends. And although she is still traumatized and probably scarred for the rest of her life she put up a brave front for her teammates.

It made it easier for her to know that the man didn't kill Kakashi or the rest of team seven. He didn't even kill Tazuna. Technically he saved them and vicariously Naruto did too, which Sakura silently appreciated him for. Still that pile of dead bodies showed her how close she was to the end and it scared her.

Theoretically, this insane man single handedly accomplished their entire mission and removed a tyrant. The irony is almost debilitating. The world is now a better place because of a man who wants to destroy the world. It is the definition by example.

She never actually feared Naruto before, but now her feelings were changing in more ways than one. Sakura still didn't fear the boy, but the man inside him was another story. She had only caught a glimpse of the killer, but one thing is for certain. He was gorgeous. Insane, but gorgeous.

This brought her attention to Naruto's appearance. As she looked at the blonde boy she noticed something new. He looked different than before. The features in his face were more defined. Almost as if his cheek and jawbones had moved slightly into a sharper look. On top of that his hair was slightly longer and lighter, especially around the bangs area. She didn't know what it meant, but she knew how it looked and it was good. Without the little bit of baby fat on his face Naruto had a skinnier physique instead of his earlier medium build. She dared to call him hot, but now he was more along the lines of what she would consider beautiful. She quickly shook the thoughts of her blonde teammate from her head.

Naruto gave her a sad smile. "Never again." He said too quietly.

The only thing Sasuke heard was. _"I will return for all of you."_

**That's chappy 2! **

**I know most of you know who the pale, skinny, silver haired man is. It's Sephiroth of course! My very favorite villain. The new sword Masamune looks just like Sephiroth's in Final Fantasy 7 so if you want to you can Google it or something.**

**I have decided to make this a crossover. I mention specific aspects of FF7 like returning to the planet and people like Sephiroth. I basically ingrained him into the story! However I have plans for crossover aspects with other games and animes so I can't just say it's going to be a final fantasy crossover. For example the sword God Eater is my rendition of the swords in the game God Eater. Although most crossover themes will be FF7 based, the main story is all Naruto.**

**If anyone has questions about the pale man (Sephiroth) I would be happy to answer them. I must tell you that you don't really need to know what returning to the planet means or who his calamitous mother is either (Jenova in case you were wondering). I really put those lines in there to show you that the guy is absolutely insane and only plans to kill everyone.**

*** ****Sin Harvest Angel**** is an attack used by Sephiroth in FF7, Kingdom Hearts, and FF dissidia. In the game it is actually Descend Heartless Angel, but I always heard Sin harvest angel and I thought it was cooler. In KH it causes you to lose all of your MP and brings you down to 1 HP. In FF dissidia it removes all of the opponent's bravery. I thought a fair transition of this attack to ****the Naruto-verse is causing his opponent to lose everything but their life sustaining chakra. This attack is avoidable. If Kakashi were to have hit him it would have canceled it. I know Sephiroth sounds unstoppable in this fic, but he isn't. He's just super fast and strong.**

**Thanks for reading! Please review if you like!**


	3. Sakura's growl

**Hey my lovelies!**

**A couple people mentioned this anime Fate: Stay Night. I tried to watch it, but no site I found had it in English! Does anyone know a place I can stream it for free?**

**Thanks for the reviews everyone! They mean a lot to me. They seriously brighten my day up immensely.**

**Also, I need to mention that since Sephiroth has not told anyone in the story his name yet, he can only be referred to by his characteristics i.e. 'the pale man, the winged man, the cat eyed man, silver haired man, etc...' Eventually, his name will be brought up, but until then the characters don't know what to call him. Just fyi.**

**Just to let you guys know. I believe this is going to be a NaruXSakuXIno story. The way I'm witing it seems to flow that way.**

**Don't own anything.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

The Kyuubi no Kitsune had not blinked for days. He doesn't need to blink anyways since he is a being of pure chakra, but that isn't the point. For the past three days he has sat in his own cage staring at the latest arrival. He never moved. He never flinched. And least of all his eyes never wavered from his new guest. The Kyuubi had to be cautious around the spirit of the Masamune lest he escape again. Although the man was now inside the cage with him and effectively sealed by the Shika Fujin there was no guarantee that he would remain locked up without the Kyuubi watching him. The demon simply didn't know enough about the man to chance taking his eyes off of him.

On the other hand, the silver haired man sat in a cross legged position with his eyes closed. He didn't care the nine tailed fox was constantly watching him. It wouldn't matter in the end because the result would be the same. He will escape. It is only a matter of time. "You are a clever beast. Sealing me inside your cage with you."

The Kyuubi didn't respond. He just stood towering over the pale man with the same unblinking stare.

The man opened his cat slit eyes. "It won't matter what you do. At some point your attention will be averted and I will resume control of the boy. You cannot lock me away forever." The deep voice of the leather clad man oppressed the large fox demon.

"**I don't need to watch you forever. Just long enough."** The Kyuubi said with a snarl as he bore his sharp teeth with a wide grin.

"What are you implying?" The man snapped back.

"**The seal on my cage is special. You must have not felt it yet, but the boy is absorbing our powers. Soon we will be nothing, but an addition to the strength of our container."**

Of course the man felt it. It was barely anything, but there was a drain on his powers. It would still take years to fully absorb him and if he were to take over at some point before then his powers would return to him in full so he wasn't worried. "And you willingly accept this fate? The great Kyuubi has planned to die in obscurity? " The man questioned without raising his voice.

"**I owe the boy far more than just my own life."** The Kyuubi said with a killer grin. **"And that's why I'm giving him yours as well."**

A deep laugh rang through the cell as the man calmly sat in the center of the cage. "When I take over this body... I will torture you. And when I'm done I will absorb what scraps of sanity you have left." It was a promise. Not a threat.

The fox demon cringed. **"You will not win. He is stronger than you think. He won't lose to you a second time."** The fox had faith in his jailer. He had already seen Naruto overcome impossible obstacles and this was no different. With any luck he could beat the man in a game of wills. But just in case. **"And I will never let you have the chance."**

The man chuckled again and closed his eyes. "We shall see."

(line break)

It had been a few days since team seven had left the land of the waves. The situation in the wave was resolved and its people were prospering, which is more than their mission parameters had asked for so they returned with pay for an A ranked mission and a success mark on their records.

As for Zabuza and Haku, their employer was dead so they had no hope of being paid by him directly. Since the quarrel with the leaf ninja was over they packed up and left after raiding a few of Gato's warehouses to get the pay they felt they deserved. However, Haku couldn't carry much with two broken arms courtesy of the pale skinned spirit of the Masamune.

Before the two departed, Kakashi let them know Konoha welcomed rogue ninja (within reason) attempting to escape their old nation. At the very least they would be able to safely ask for respite without being harmed or captured, but Konoha might not accept them if they were deemed too dangerous or seemed untrustworthy. While they didn't want to be tied to any nation they certainly enjoyed the thought of protection against mist hunter ninja that Konoha could provide. They told Kakashi that they would think about it and they parted ways.

However, before they left they had a conversation with Naruto. He wanted to at least see if the veteran swordsman would consider teaching him a few sword skills. As it turned out they were more than willing to cooperate after they spoke. They didn't even realize how long they had been talking until the sun began to set. By the time the walked away it seemed certain that Zabuza would return to help teach the blonde boy to use his swords. Naruto wasn't sure, but Zabuza must have taken a liking to him or something because they got along fairly well. Maybe demons can communicate subconsciously.

Naruto was having more problems than just finding a sensei. The blonde boy didn't understand how or exactly when they happened, but he noticed the changes in himself. His slight increase in height. The deep tone of his voice. The longer and lighter hair. Finally he noticed his body was thinner, but faster. He wasn't physically more powerful, but he could move much more quickly than he remembered.

His senses were slightly increased as well. Namely in the eyes. Dark rooms seemed to be far more illuminated and it only took the slightest amount of light passing into his vision for him to clearly see an area. When he looked in the mirror it almost seemed like his eyes were producing their own shine, which added into his natural blue.

Naruto cringed at the thought of his new looks. He may be more outwardly beautiful, but he knew what he was becoming. The smooth features of the pale man's visage ran across his streamlined toned body and it scared him.

Naruto shakily ran a hand across his defined cheek bones down to his lightly pointed chin. He released a deep groan and listened to the new low tone of his voice. To others it may sound silky and seductive; able to lull anyone into a false sense of security or warmth. But to him it only reaffirmed what he already knew. They were more the mark of a demon than the whisker scars created by the Kyuubi.

_'You've noticed the changes.'_ Gilgamesh spoke to Naruto for the first time in a few days. Naruto hadn't been trying to get a hold of him quite yet so it wasn't like they were avoiding a conversation or anything.

_'Yeah. Umm Gilgamesh?'_ Naruto asked squeamishly.

_'Yes?'_

_'I wanted to apologize for what I did. I should have known I couldn't beat him.'_ He said sadly.

There was a contemplative pause on the behalf of the spirit. _'There is no need for an apology. At some point the issue of the other spirit needed to be addressed.'_ Gilgamesh was calm. He didn't want Naruto to know he was happy that he came out on top in the end. He couldn't afford to start a friendship with him unless he wanted to risk another incident like what happened with Masamune.

_'Still. I couldn't help myself. I was so angry I felt like I had to call it out!'_ Naruto clutched his chest at his own words.

_'You were far more than angry. If you had not you would not have been able to summon Masamune for it is a sword born of hatred.'_

_'My hate brought out Masamune?'_ Naruto had no idea he could feel that way. It wasn't pleasant for him. In all the years of him being beaten and abused by the townspeople of Konoha, he never hated them. Disliked them of course, but never hated. It was only when his friendship was in jeopardy did he invoke hate. Since he never had any real friends before team seven this was the first time he was even able to experience the horrid emotion.

_'Yes. And the spirit followed.'_

_'If I use the sword again will __**he**__ come back?'_ Naruto asked the million dollar question.

_'The Kyuubi is keeping a watchful eye on him. He should not escape if you use Masamune.'_ Gilgamesh was worried for his host's ability to fight off the spirit without the Kyuubi's help, but he wouldn't voice his concerns aloud.

Naruto got lost in thought for a moment before returning to his conversation with Gilgamesh. _'So why do I look different?'_ He finally decided to address the reason the conversation began. The reason he was afraid. Not for himself, but for his friends.

_'Your change in appearance, as well as your voice, are due to your merging.'_

_'Merging? With what?'_ He figured he was joining with the man, but he didn't know to what degree. Gilgamesh may not know it, but if he doesn't tell Naruto what he wants to hear then there is a chance that the blonde boy will take matters into his own hands. If it comes down to it he won't think twice about ending the pale man. Even if it means he has to end himself.

_'The spirit has been brought into the seal with the Kyuubi. As such you are merging with them both. You and the pale man will begin to share a few attributes. This explains the lighter hair, taller build, and shine in your eyes. The increased senses is a mix of the Kyuubi's and the spirit's chakra with yours.'_

_'Hmm. What about my voice? Why is it deeper?'_

_'That is also the man's doing.'_

_'So he isn't taking over?'_ He asked with a hint of worry.

_'No he is not. Thanks to the Kyuubi you are taking him over. At some point you will absorb his entire being.'_ He decided to leave out the fact that without the Kyuubi suppressing the man he would try to take control again. He didn't need to tell Naruto because Gilgamesh already knew the blonde boy could connect the dots.

Naruto mentally sighed in relief._ 'I'm not sure if you are able to worry cuz I never know what the hell you're thinking, but if you can worry know that you don't have to. I will not let __**him**__ win no matter what happens! I have too much at stake. Too many people to protect.'_ Naruto left no room for question in his voice.

The spirit was silent. He believed in his container. He even trusted him. Gilgamesh could feel that this boy of twelve was on par with some of the greatest heroes that have ever wielded one of his six swords. _'If that is your prerogative.' _He answered emotionlessly.

Naruto chuckled. _'Don't lie. I know you wanted me to win.'_

'_What I want is irrelevant.'_

'_You didn't say no!'_ Naruto laughed before he quickly cut the connection with Gilgamesh.

The spirit sighed to himself. _'I really have to learn to keep my mouth shut.'_

(line break)

Konoha was finally within team seven's eyesight. At least the large wall and slightly open double doors were. The genin let out a collective sigh as soon as they saw the gate guards waving to them. They were finally home.

"Okay you guys go relax. You definitely deserve it. I'm going to report to the Hokage." Kakashi said with a bored voice.

"Hai Kakashi-sensei." The team spoke in unison.

Kakashi shunshined to his destination leaving the three genin alone. Sasuke began to walk away. He was going to go back to his quiet home in the center of the Uchiha compound to take some well deserved rest after such a long mission, but before he got too far Sakura caught up with him. "Hey Sasuke-kun. Want to get something to eat?" She asked for what seemed to Sasuke like the thousandth time.

He looked at her for a second before continuing his walk. "No thanks."

Sakura watched his retreating form with a sad face. "He never eats with me." She pouted.

Sakura felt a small tap on her shoulder. The pinkette turned and locked her green eyes with her blue counterpart. "Hey Sakura-chan! Wana grab a bite to eat real quick?" Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head.

Sakura looked him up and down. Since his sudden increase in height he couldn't wear the same old orange jumpsuit anymore. Instead he was force to wear black pants and a close fitting grey shirt that they found back in Wave. Naruto complained like crazy when the store said they didn't have any orange, but he got over it after Sakura smacked him once or twice. The pinkette definitely thought this look suited him much better than the old one.

Sakura wasn't interested in giving Naruto something akin to a date, but she couldn't say no to his strangely glowing puppy dog eyes. "Eh alright. Where do you want to go?"

"Where else? Ichiraku's of course!" Even though his voice was deep and very inviting, Sakura still appreciated that his boyish charm didn't diminish with his oddly mature sounding tone.

Sakura agreed and they made the quick journey to Naruto's favorite restaurant. She liked it on occasion too so it was okay. When they arrived they took the first two open seats next to each other and struck up a conversation. As Sakura listened to Naruto talk she noticed something strange. Even though he was still ending every sentence with 'believe it' and being his same old annoying self she found that he wasn't actually annoying at all. His voice lulled her into his words until she finally found herself thoroughly enjoying her conversation with Naruto. It was then she realized that she never really took the time to talk to her teammate and find out about him. She just fell into the hype of looking down on the outcast and assuming he is the most annoying person ever. Turns out he's actually a great guy with a bad rep.

After a few minutes passed Ayame walked up to take their order. "Hello how may I… Naruto-kun?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Ayame-chan! My first A-ranked mission was a success!" He blurted out the news because he wanted to impress her and her father since they were two of his precious people.

Ayame stared at him. "What happened to you? You look so…different." _'How about hot!'_ She averted her gaze to Sakura with a blush.

Naruto tried to think fast. "Oh it's a umm… it's a growth spurt! Yeah I'm getting more mature!" He put a hand on his elegant face. "Why? Is it bad?" He asked with apprehensive worry.

She waved her hands in defense. "Oh no! It's not bad." Her eyes go half lidded and her voice lowered slightly. "Not bad at all." The waitress said as she lightly licked her lips.

Sakura stared her down. _'Ayame you ignorant slut! Stop flirting with him right in front of me!'_ She reeled back her emotions and tried to figure out why she would get mad about this. He was a teammate. Not a potential boyfriend. The pinkette wanted to slap herself for thinking about boyfriends and Naruto in the same breath. _'Calm down Sakura. You love Sasuke-kun.' _

"Oh... thanks I guess." Naruto said as he nervously scratched the back of his head.

Ayame hadn't realized she said that out loud and blushed furiously. "What would you like me to make you?" It sounded like there was an implication for more than food, but Naruto wasn't sure. The two genin placed their orders and Ayame wrote them down with a smile.

Before the waitress walked away to make their food she let her gaze trail over Naruto for a longer than normal period. _'Yeah that's right just keep fucking staring you skank.'_ Sakura said mentally followed by a deep sigh. _'What the hell is wrong with me?_ _I'm swearing like a sailor in my own head about a guy I don't even want to date.'_

As soon as Ayame walked away the teammates re-engaged in their stimulating conversation and it didn't take long for the food to arrive. They had a nice meal together and before either one of them realized it was already time to part ways.

"See you later Sakura-chan!" Naruto said waving his hand as he looked over his shoulder at the pinkette.

"Goodbye Naruto! See you later!" She yelled back in a tone that sounded more excited than she had meant to deliver and she waved her hand back and forth furiously. She stopped waving abruptly when she noticed how dumb she looked. Her hand had been going side to side so fast it looked like her right arm was having a seizure in the air.

_'I really should have gotten to know him before this.'_ She shook her head at herself. _'Oh well. There's no time like the present I guess.'_ Sakura went home happy with her blossoming relationship with her teammate, but she would deny any romantic feelings for him vehemently.

(line break)

Naruto felt more alive than ever. He just had a meal with his crush and he really felt they had a connection this time. He wanted to just get lost in his thoughts about Sakura until he reached his shabby apartment, but the whole walk there seemed off. The jinchuuriki was used to the hard glares or purposeful cold shoulders of the civilians as he walked around the village. Honestly he preferred the glares over feigned indifference because at least if they glared at him they had to acknowledge he was there in the first place.

However, this time the walk was different. Sure, many of the older civilians still glared or ignored him, but the younger crowd was acting funny. Especially the girls. They used to ignore him or call him a pest, but now they were definitely looking directly at him and it wasn't with annoyance. They were making it painfully obvious as they stared at him with their mouths slightly agape.

Naruto couldn't understand it. The blonde boy had never seen a look like this coming his way before. And why were they giggling?

Was his fly open? He looked down and checked.

Nope.

Was there something on his face? He wiped his hand across his mouth.

Nothing wrong there either.

Then why the hell are these girls blushing and giggling at him? They've even started to form small groups where they would stare at him until he looked back and then would promptly blush and chatter amongst themselves. _'What kind of torture is this!'_

Gilgamesh laughed at the boy's expense. Silently of course. Even a spirit with no physical body understood what the looks meant. _'My container is quite dense when it comes to women.'_

He eventually got so frustrated that he took to the rooftops until he made it back home. At least on the rooftops the only people hopping around will be ninja.

Naruto didn't notice it, but there was another ninja three rooftops to his left who was also trying to avoid the crowds of civilians. Bright pupiless blue eyes watched Naruto jump away. The blonde haired girl who those eyes belonged to quickly followed after him.

Naruto made it home and barely had time to open his door and throw his backpack on the bed before an Anbu with a cat mask showed up. "The Hokage requests your audience."

Naruto smiled and nodded. He knew the old man would want to see him soon, given the details of his latest operation. The blonde boy was going to go to him later that day anyways. He wanted to tell his grandfather figure about his first successful mission, even if it did go awry.

(line break)

Kakashi just got done explaining the details of team seven's latest mission. Throughout the jonin's debriefing the Sandaime hadn't said a word, as is customary. He silently took all the information in; the only noise from him was an occasional drag on his pipe.

"Cat." At the Hokage's call an Anbu fazed out of the shadows.

"Hokage-sama."

"Go tell Naruto to come visit me." The Hokage said gently.

"Hai." The Anbu fazed back into the darkness of the Hokage's office to find Naruto.

The old Hokage slowly opened his desk and took out a bag of tobacco. After packing his pipe full of the carcinogenic substance he took a long drag. "I must say that this is hard to believe Kakashi."

"I know Hokage-sama. I would question it myself if I wasn't there." Kakashi said while leaning lazily up against a wall.

"And what do you think of this Gilgamesh?"

"I am… unsure. The only thing we know concerning his intentions is that he did warn Naruto what would happen if he used his sword. That being our only evidence it would appear he means no harm."

The Hokage tensed. "And the Kyuubi? Is what you said true?"

"Yes. I could never forget what the Kyuubi's chakra felt like and from what I saw it helped Naruto force the spirit back into the sword."

The Hokage furrowed his brow. He knew how Kakashi felt. The old ninja could never forget the Kyuubi's chakra either. "This is all very odd." The two continued discussing a few other details about the mission until they heard a knock at the door.

"Come in Naruto." The Hokage said.

Naruto casually walked in with both of his hands linked behind his head. "Hey Jiji. Heard you wanted to see me."

Sarutobi cocked his head at the young genin. _'Kakashi was right. He does look different. Not so different that I can't tell it's him, but still quite a change.'_ The Hokage gave him a smile. "Congratulations on your first successful A-ranked mission. I'm very proud of you."

Naruto's face lit up. "Thanks Old Man! It was real tough! But nothing I couldn't handle." Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Good. Good. I'm glad you're excited. You're becoming a fine ninja. This latest mission proved it." The Hokage said happily.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Oh... thanks." He knew what was coming.

"So." The old man shifted in his chair and set his pipe down. "Concerning this last mission of yours." Naruto twiddled his thumbs. "I was hoping you could shed some light on a few details for me."

The blonde boy dropped his head. "Details such as?"

The Hokage looked at him for a moment. "I know you already know what I want to ask you Naruto." The kind old man got up and put a comforting hand on the genin's shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about. It'll be okay. I promise."

Naruto lifted his head and saw the truth in his grandfather figures eyes. "Okay." For the next thirty minutes Naruto explained to the Hokage and Kakashi everything. Nothing was left out. Gilgamesh, the Kyuubi, the pale man, and even Zabuza was brought up. The two elder ninja rarely interrupted Naruto's report and by the end they weren't completely at ease with the situation Naruto was in, but they didn't feel like they had too much of a choice except to leave him be (under their watchful eyes of course). The fact is there wasn't much they could do except see how everything is going to unfold.

The Hokage was the first to speak when Naruto was finished. "Thank you Naruto. That was... interesting."

"You don't believe me do you?" Naruto dead panned.

The Hokage laughed. "I do believe you. Every word. But I have never heard of anyone in this situation."

Naruto felt like he knew the next words that were going to come out of the old man's mouth. "I'm on lock-down aren't I?" The blonde sighed.

"No." The Hokage chuckled. "I've never heard of anyone in this situation and that's why I'm going to let this play out... with a little interference by us."

Naruto hadn't expected that. "R..really?" He asked cautiously.

"Yes. Kakashi and I will keep an eye on you, but if you think something is going wrong you have to tell us. Okay?" He smiled.

"Of course Jiji!" He was so happy he didn't have to be confined. Naruto was pretty sure some sort of regulations were going to be put on him to prevent him from possibly losing control. Instead he is completely free! At least as long as the civilian council doesn't find out too much about the operation.

"Good. Now go get some rest. You deserve it after doing so well on your mission." Sarutobi smiled.

"See ya Jiji! Catch ya later Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto said as he bolted out of the room.

When the boy was gone Kakashi turned to the Hokage. "We're just going to watch him?" He questioned.

Sarutobi sat back down into his wooden chair. "I trust Naruto. And honestly I don't know what we can do. I could call Jaraiya to come look at his seal, but you said yourself it was exactly the same as it was before."

"My sharingan showed it is the exact same pattern and still has the same amount of the Yondaime's chakra running through it. It is running at 100% capacity." Kakashi stated.

"Exactly. And as for these new spirits and swords. I don't think there is much we can do, but watch him. If anything seems off about him report to me immediately and I will confront Naruto about it. Although..." The Hokage put a finger to his chin. "I feel like I've heard a story about a winged man before. I just can't remember when." He put his hands back on the desk. "Oh well. It will be irrelevant before too long. According to Naruto he is absorbing the man and the Kyuubi now so once the merging is complete there shouldn't be any problems."

"Yes, but how long will that take." Kakashi said animatedly as he uncrossed his arms. "How long will I have to look at my genin and worry if he's going to suddenly change and kill me? Or the rest of team seven for that matter?"

"Kakashi." His voice was soft in an attempt to calm his friend down. The Hokage looked at his subordinate sympathetically.

The one eyed jonin sighed and rubbed his forehead. He let his emotions get the best of him, which was something he was never known for. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama. I overreacted."

"No I understand." He looked Kakashi in the eye. "But you must realize he has had the Kyuubi no Kitsune inside him for twelve years. If anyone can contain this new being it's him."

The silver haired ninja moved over to an open chair and sat down. He lazily propped his elbow up on the arm and leaned his head on his hand. Kakashi knew Naruto could handle it, but that didn't change what had already happened. If the cyclops ninja was anything, he was cautious. And he wanted to make any preparations that were necessary to save Naruto in case there is a problem. "I know. He's stronger than I've given him credit for." He said nonchalantly. "They all are."

"Then why bring it up?" The older man asked.

The cyclops looked out the large window looming over Konoha as his thoughts ran over the day on the bridge. "Just noting concerns I guess."

"You know... the chuunin exams are coming up soon."

Kakashi continued staring out the window. "Yeah. I know." He patted his jonin vest and the sound of papers crunching filled the room. "Got' em right here."

(line break)

After Sakura and Naruto parted ways she basically said hello to her family and went straight to bed. The toll of team seven's makeshift mission finally began to weigh on her in the form of fatigue and sore muscles. She was so drained she even asked her parents not to wake her in the morning in anticipation of a possible fourteen hour rest. Unfortunately for Sakura, other people had plans.

"Hey forehead." The pinkette could feel a pressure on her chest as a voice broke into some perverted dream she can't remember. "Wake up already." This time the voice was accompanied by a small slap to the face.

Sakura sputtered at her rude awakening. Even with closed lids she could feel the sun's rays coming through her window. Her emerald eyes opened to see blue ones staring back. "Ino?"

"Wake up! It's like nine O'clock already." The blonde said with crossed arms.

Sakura looked down in fury. Ino was straddling her! "Get the hell off me pig!" She said as she flailed around. Ino just rode her like a bucking bronco.

"Whoa there! Calm down girl!" She said as she raised one hand in the air and used the other to hold onto the blankets like reigns.

Sakura was pissed. She was already tired and now this girl she didn't even like was sitting on top of her playing bull rider! Sakura threw her blankets up over Ino's head and pushed her off the bed with her feet. The blonde hit the floor with a thud. _'Bitch.'_ The pink haired girl smirked at her small victory over her rival. "What do you want Ino?" She said angrily.

The blonde girl pulled the blankets off her and brushed her hair into place with her hands. "I come in peace I swear." She said with her hands defensively in front of her.

"I don't care!" Sakura said as she lifted the sheets off the ground and laid back in bed. "I need my beauty sleep for when I see Sasuke-kun.!" She threw the blankets over her face in a huff trying to end the conversation. "So get out!" Came the muffled voice from under the blanket.

Ino walked to the bed and sat at Sakura's feet. "That's just the thing. You can have him!" The mind walker said cheerfully.

Sakura pulled the sheets out of her face and sat up to glare at Ino. "This is a trick isn't it? I'm not falling for it. Sasuke-kun is mine!" She yelled.

"It's not a trick stupid! You can have him!" The blonde smiled. "I like someone else now." She said smugly as she curled her toes at the thought.

The pinkette didn't know if she should believe her old best friend. "Oh yeah? Then what's this new guy's name? Hmmm?" She was too pushy for Ino's liking.

"I have no idea." The blonde said nonchalantly with shrugged shoulders.

Sakura sighed. "Then how do you know you like him? Wait. Screw that! I don't care! We're not friends anymore. Remember?" Sakura said.

"No that's the beauty of it! We were fighting over Sasuke and now I don't want him. We can be friends again!" She said ecstatically.

"Who said I wanted to be friends with you anymore?" Sakura said with malice as she turned her head and pouted.

"Sakura." The tone in Ino's voice was sad. "Don't you remember how we used to be? Just you and me?" She moved closer to the pink haired girl. "I want that back. We used to be such good friends. We used to be best friends!" The mind walker put her hand on her shoulder and Sakura turned her head towards her old friend. It had been too long since they did anything but yell at each other. "Until Sasuke came along we were inseparable. I'm telling you now I won't try to take him from you. I really am trying my hardest to get over Sasuke by finding this other guy, but I need your help. I honestly don't know if I like this other guy yet. I just know he's hot as hell and that's enough for now." She giggled and Sakura inadvertently joined.

They had been fighting for what seemed like forever over Sasuke. Becoming friends again wasn't something Sakura ever thought would be possible for them. It seemed unfeasible. Neither one of the girls were willing to give up the black haired boy and instead of being friendly about it they took the childish route. They fought and bickered constantly until eventually they were sworn mortal enemies. But the fact is they were just children when they fought. Now they were both genin and officially adults in the eyes of the village so they should act like it. Why couldn't they give their friendship a second chance? After all it did hurt to lose her best friend when they broke apart. Ino probably still knew more about her than most people even though it's been years since they were on civil speaking terms.

Sakura groaned. "Fine. What does he look like?" She said in a bored tone even though she was smiling on the inside.

Ino squealed and clapped her hands together. "Thanks Sakura!" She pulled the pink haired girl into a tight hug. And just as quickly as they had broken up, their friendship had been mended. At least partially. Who would've thought fickleness would actually bring two people back together?

Sakura put her arms around Ino's back. "Let's just call this strategy. You're one less person trying to get Sasuke-kun and I'm one step closer. Not that you had a chance." She gave her a playful smirk.

Ino returned the grin. "Keep telling yourself that if it will make you feel better forehead. You know I'm sexy." She said as she put both her arms behind her back and pushed her chest out, actually succeeding in making Sakura jealous.

"Whatever. So how hot could this guy be that you bail on Sasuke-kun just like that." They both back on the bed and leaned up against the wall.

"You have no idea. I saw him yesterday on the rooftops while I was running home. I tried to follow him, but he was freaking fast!" The pinkette was nearly blinded by the stars in her friend's eyes as she recalled the day before.

"Come on Ino I need details!" Sakura said longingly.

"Okay. He's definitely a ninja because normal people don't go jumping from rooftop to rooftop like that so we can narrow down the search a lot. He was dressed in black pants and combat boots with a tight grey shirt on. He looked a little skinny, but I bet I could wash my laundry on his abs." She said with a dreamy look.

'_Black pants and a grey shirt. That sounds common.'_ Sakura thought to herself. _'Plenty of ninja wear that same outfit.'_

"Oh and he has pale blonde hair!"

'_That sounds too familiar._'

"And the best part! Those eyes. They were so pretty!"

'_She couldn't mean!'_

"They were all sparkly and blue. Kinda glowy. I just wanted to stare into them forever!"

"Wait."

Ino's eyes stopped gleaming and she turned to her friend. "Hmm?"

Sakura scrunched up her blankets into her fists. "I think I know who it is."

Ino smiled brightly. "Really? Who is it?" She said as she moved directly in front of Sakura.

She sighed. "It's Naruto."

Ino blinked a few times and broke out into laughter. "That was a dumb joke. I thought you were going to help me!"

"I'm not joking Ino. How many other blonde shinobi with blue eyes are there besides you or your family? Personally I don't know of any."

Ino stuttered. "B… but he didn't really look like Naruto."

"He had a…" Sakura looked away. "… growth spurt recently."

Ino sat back stunned. "Naruto is… is…"

Sakura put a hand on her friend's shoulder in an attempt to comfort her. "I know Ino. I'm sorry if this changes…"

"DREAMY!" Ino shouted.

"What?" The pinkette's eyes went wide. "I thought you hated him?"

Ino looked at Sakura like she was stupid. "Hate is a really strong word forehead." She said while wagging her finger. "Actually I thought he was pretty funny! His pranks were awesome." The pink haired girl was confused and her face showed it. "Oh this makes everything so much easier! He's at Ichiraku's like every day right?"

"Umm yeah." Sakura said quietly.

"I just gotta go to there and then…" She began to mumble small plans to herself. She figured it should be really easy to get him to notice her. Just an innuendo here and there should do the trick. Ino broke out of her musings to look over and see Sakura had nearly torn her blankets in two. "Forehead?"

The pinkette looked at her friend with a fake smile. "Yeah pig?"

"What's wrong? It looks like your going to need a new down comforter if you keep that up." She said as she motioned to Sakura's tightly gripped hands.

"Nothing's wrong. I'm fine." She said under her breath.

Ino dipped in front of Sakura to try to lock eyes, but Sakura's head was lowered too far for her to see. The blonde waited a few moments before dropping her head along with her friend. "Oh crap." She said in a huff.

"What?" Sakura shot back.

"You like him too don't you." The blonde said it more like a fact than a question.

Sakura scoffed. "No way!"

The mind walker smiled. "Good. Because I'm going put the moves on him."

"Grrrr."

Ino dramatically pointed a finger at Sakura. "If you don't like him then what was that growl I just heard from you." She said with a smirk.

"What growl? I didn't make any noise at all." Sakura defended.

The blonde mind walker knew how to manipulate people into telling her what she wanted to know. Not that Sakura would be much of a challenge. She could sap information from her own father's brain if she wanted to and he's a pro! She would never force her way into her fathers mind with the family jutsu or anything, but she had other ways of getting information when she wanted it. She was his princess after all.

A girl in Sakura's state of mind is easy for any mind walker to handle. She just needs a little provocation. "Fine. I'm going to run an experiment then." Ino stood in front of her friend and cleared her throat. "Naruto and Sakura went to the beach." Ino left it hang as if she were about to start a story about them.

The pinkette just quirked her eyebrow.

Ino cleared her throat again. "Okay next scene. Naruto… and another girl…"

"Grrr." The pinkette slapped a hand over her mouth and her eyes went wide. "Oh shit." Came her mumbled response from under her hand.

'_Was it really just that easy?'_ Ino gave her an all knowing smirk. "Told ya."

Sakura was in a panic. "Ino no." She said as if she was scolding a small child, but really she just didn't want Ino to jump to conclusions. Sakura didn't need Sasuke to hear rumors about her liking another guy. "I don't have feelings for him I swear! He's on my team and I worry about him. That's all!"

The blonde didn't look convinced. "Hmm. If you say so." Ino walked over to the open window she used to get in the room. "If that's the case then I'm going to go find Naruto and see what he's up to. Ja ne!" She said before quickly jumping out.

"Grrr."

That growling was beginning to make Sakura upset. It was irrational. '_Why does the thought of Naruto with another girl upset me so much?'  
><em>

Ino's head popped back into the window. Her blonde ponytail swayed back and forth as she held herself upside down using chakra to attach to the overhang. "Oh and Sakura? I'm so glad we resolved our differences." The inverted blonde added before leaving once again.

Crrrrrriiiip.

Sakura looked down at the comforter she just ripped in half. "Damn."

(line break)

Sakura had gone back to sleep, but a few hours later the pinkette was woken up again by light taps on her window. She curled over on her twin sized mattress and looked at her alarm clock with tired eyes.

Noon.

_'Eh it's time to get up anyway.'_ She stood up and stretched before walking to the window. She pulled the drapes open expecting Ino to have come back with news on Naruto or something. Not that she cared. Ino can go ahead and try all she wants.

Instead of seeing the pupiless eyes of her recently reacquired friend she gazed upon the fluorescent blue hues of her teammate. "Yo Sakura-chan. Can I come in? I've got fooOOOood." He wiggled his eyebrows as he waved two bags full of provisions back and forth.

She sighed at his stupid display. _'Why does he have to wiggle his eyebrows all weird like that?'_ Sakura didn't really want him in her room, but she was starving so she made an exception. "Yeah come on in, but don't touch anything." She said as she opened the window for him.

Naruto ducked under the sill and peered around the room. Instantly his mind went into pink overload. Everything was covered in the same color. Pink sheets. Pink drapes. Pink walls. It looked like a three year old was living there. "Try some diversity." He said as he turned to look at her. "You know there's more than one color in the spectrum right?" Naruto laughed at his joke, but was cut off when Sakura smacked him in the head.

"I like the color so shut up!" The fuming girl held her fist up to his face. "Or do you want some more!"

The frightened blonde held the bag of food in front of his own face hoping she wouldn't punch through it. "Ahh I'm sorry! Here! I got it from your favorite restaurant!" He shoved the food in her hands and jumped back.

Sakura opened the bag and looked inside. Not only was it from her favorite place, but was also her favorite dish. Syrup coated anko dumplings and umeboshi. How did he know that? Her parents barely even knew she liked that stuff.

She looked over at Naruto to see him pull the top off of some ramen and it seemed like his shining blue eyes glowed even brighter as he held the steaming bowl of noodles in his hand. Sakura took her food and sat directly in front of him on her floor. _'How did he know what I like?'_

"Naruto?"

"Hrrrmmff?" He said with noodles hanging out of his mouth and his cheeks covered in broth.

It was disgusting. There was no way she was going to let him sit there and slurp his food all over her carpet so she simply sighed and took a napkin out of her bag. They both thought she was just going to hand him the small piece of cloth so he could clean himself, but instead she reached over herself and wiped the excess liquid off his cheeks. When her hand accidentally rubbed up against his whisker marks Naruto felt a powerful jolt, which caused him to shudder.

She hadn't realized what she was doing until her hand was gently lying against his bare cheek. The napkin lay on the flood discarded and forgotten as she slowly rubbed her thumb back and forth across his wild whisker scars. His skin was so smooth.

Naruto shut his eyes and leaned into her hand like a kitten wanting to be petted. He honestly didn't know he was doing it. It just felt so good to have her touch him like this.

Her hands were extremely soft for a ninja. And they had the distinct smell of Sakura's light strawberry scented hand soap she always carried with her on their missions. Naruto had grown accustomed to it very quickly and now if he ever ate a strawberry he could only think of her. He wondered if she tasted the same.

Sakura quickly pulled her hand back and covered her blushing face. _'Oh my God what was I doing?'_ The flustered preteen tried to stand up so she could run out of the room in embarrassment, but before she could even move Naruto's face appeared directly in front of hers.

"Oh no! Do you have the flu too?" He placed the back of his hand across her forehead.

Her previous embarrassment left her and was replaced with anger as she smacked his hand away. "No I don't have the flu! Why would you even think that?"

Naruto leaned back on his legs. "Pretty much every girl I saw today had really red faces just like yours." This made her blush return. "Even Ayame-chan and Ino-chan got it."

Those names made Sakura cringe. "You saw Ino today?" She said trying to contain the anger she wished she didn't have.

Naruto rubbed his chin in thought. "Yeah when I was at Ichiraku's she showed up. She must have been really sick because she was barely even able to talk to me without stuttering! I think she was trying to get me sick or something though."

Sakura hid her frustration with her friend with a raised eyebrow. "Why do you say that?" She seethed.

"She kept getting all close to me and stuff. I backed away, but every time I moved she sat closer to me." He huffed. "I know she doesn't like me, but trying to get me sick is just mean." She considered the pout on his face cute. "And I don't think Ayame-chan should be making people's food if she didn't feel well, but she said she was fine and I really wanted ramen so I didn't argue."

Sakura didn't know if she should laugh at Naruto's stupidity or feel bad for him for not understanding. _'How does he not have a clue?'_ At least she knew Ino didn't get anywhere with him. Naruto was apparently too dim to realize what a blush could mean. She supposed she was lucky for that as well because the red on her face still hadn't completely left. "Don't worry about Ino. I'll take care of her." She said evilly.

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "Ugh thanks, but I don't think you need to do anything. I've never gotten sick before so she couldn't give me the flu even if she wanted!" He said cheerfully.

She was still going to have a talk with Ino about this, but for now she will concede to make Naruto happy. "Fine." Since when did she care about making him happy?

"Thanks Sakura-chan. You're the best!" He said as he went back to digging into his ramen.

Sakura looked down at her own dish and returned to her previous thoughts. "Hey Naruto?"

"Yeah?" He said making sure to have no broth on his face or noodles hanging out of his mouth this time.

"How did you know my favorite place to eat?" She asked him while taking a bite out of her dumpling. It was delicious as ever.

He put down his bowl so he didn't over-tempt himself to eat while he was talking. "A few years back we were sitting in Iruka-sensei's class and you told the teme where you wanted him to bring you for a date. I just happened to be next to you when you said it."

"Oh." Suddenly the dumplings didn't taste so good. Not that there was anything wrong with them. She just wished she didn't ignore him so heavily when they were younger that she couldn't even tell when he was around. It left a bad taste in her mouth that no amount of umeboshi could wash out.

"You also listed off your favorite foods for him so I knew what to get you when I went there." Naruto said with a small grin.

"So you're telling me I mentioned the food I liked one time a few years ago and you still remember what I wanted?" It would've been more charming if it wasn't kind of creepy. Still, Sakura found it very odd his memory was so keen. It seemed like he knew a little too much detail about a random day from a few years ago, but she shrugged it off for now.

He smiled brightly and she really wished he wasn't so cute. "Of course Sakura-chan! I had to know where to take you when you finally accept one of my dates."

She smacked him over the head again. "Keep dreaming Naruto."

The blonde boy stared into her eyes and they both became transfixed on one another. "I will... for now." The way he said it made Sakura blush. His husky voice rang in her ears and made her body shiver with pleasure and it was so seductive she wondered if he was even trying to do it. Mostly, she wanted to know what it was he did to her in his dreams. Again, she cursed herself for having such weird thoughts. He was supposed to be a friend and nothing more.

She turned her head away to stop her heart from beating so hard. "Perv." The pinkette said even though her mind was the one that was in the gutter.

Naruto cut the tense moment with a smile and stood up. "Oh well. I'll get out of your hair I guess." She whimpered lightly as he stood up and collected his dish. The young woman found herself not wanting him to go. He could stay if he wanted. "I just wanted to drop by and see how you were. You looked pretty exhausted yesterday." He was always too concerned for others.

She was too flustered to say much else so she decided to stay quiet. Before long he already had one foot on the frame of her window ready to jump. "See ya later Sakura-chan." With one final smile he leaped out to do who knows what.

Sakura was beginning to realize why she would growl when she thought about him with anyone else. "Damn again."

Without warning or sound a figure faded in the room from the shadows on her wall. "Pardon the interruption." Sakura turned quickly to see an Anbu member with a cat mask standing in her room. "But the Hokage would like to see you." As soon as Sakura nodded her head the Anbu vanished just as quickly as she came and Sakura got ready to go see the village's leader as quickly as she could.

She had no idea of the surprise that awaited her when she would arrive in his office.

(line break)

Ino was angrily pacing back and forth in her room.

Why?

Because she fucked up. After leaving Sakura's house she went searching for Naruto. It only took minutes before she found him at Ichiraku's talking to the waitress that worked there. It was the perfect chance to talk to Naruto and try to make him like her, but no. Instead she stuttered worse than Hinata during a spelling bee and made herself look like a fool in front of her new crush.

What was worse was he kept moving away from her! Ino smacked her hand on a nightstand. "I can't believe he thought I had the flu!" After walking to her bed and venting her anger on a poor defenseless pillow she calmed down. The pillow was torn to bits, but at least she was finally able to think with a level head. "Okay Plan A didn't work. It's time for Plan B." She said with a grin as she walked to the door to leave.

Ino gasped as she opened the door to her hallway and an Anbu member was standing there. _'Damn. Looks like Plan B will have to wait.'_

(line break)

Sakura politely knocked on the double doors to the Hokage's office and patiently awaited a response from the other side before walking in. As she walked in the office she noticed the two giant stacks of paperwork he was neglecting. Apparently he thought staring blankly out of his window and smoking his pipe was far more pressing than village affairs. If it wasn't the Hokage she would've smacked this procrastinator.

"Hokage-sama. You wished to see me?" She said with a polite bow.

He turned his head away from the window and smiled. "Ah Sakura. Thank you for coming on such short notice." He could see she must have rushed herself over to his office because her clothes and hair were slightly disheveled. "We should wait for your teammates to arrive before I tell you why I have called you here." He said as he turned to look back out of his window.

'_I guess team seven has a mission already.'_

Almost immediately after the Hokage stopped speaking another knock was heard on the door. "Enter."

Sakura turned her head expecting to see Naruto, Sasuke, or Kakashi. When she saw the blonde head of hair make its way through first she had to admit to herself she was a little excited. She hadn't expected to see Naruto so soon after the encounter that seemed awkward for her, but surprisingly normal for Naruto.

But wait a minute. Naruto's hair isn't that long. Is it?

"Hey forehead what are you doing here?" Ino asked as she quirked an eyebrow.

"I could ask you the same thing pig." Sakura glared back at her friend in jest.

"Calm down girls. Partners shouldn't argue like this." The old ninja chuckled.

"Partners?" Sakura asked.

"Yes. You two and another will be partners for this next mission." The Hokage took a long drag from his pipe.

"But what about our original teams?" Ino felt it was odd to break up the Ino-Shika-Cho combo for any mission. They always worked well together.

"The Akimichi and Nara clans have special family inductions they need to take care of in which the boys must be present. Do not worry. You will not need them for this mission anyways. You two are just the backup for the third member." The old man smiled like he just told them a joke.

"Who's the third member?" Sakura asked.

"This mission is tailored to a special ability only your third member possesses. And I think you both know who he is." The Hokage laughed when he felt the familiar chakra of the final member approach the door.

"So who is it then?" Sakura asked trying not to get aggravated with the man who could probably kill her with a stare.

The doors crash open without even a courteous knock to alert them of the newcomer's presence. "Hey Jiji what do you want? I'm busy… Oh hey Sakura-chan! Hey Ino-chan! What are you guys doing here?" He gave them a smile and they both blushed immediately.

"Hey Naruto!" Ino ran over and clamped onto his arm. "We have a mission together. Isn't that great!"

Naruto had an uneasy look on his face as the girl clung mercilessly to his arm. "Ugh yeah. It's really great." He was actually happy for a mission. Just another chance to prove himself. However the blonde on his arm was another story. In the past she treated him more as a pest, but now she seemed to not want to leave him alone.

Naruto's ear twitched as he picked up an odd noise. "Hey do you guys hear that?"

"Hear what?" Ino asked.

He took a thinking pose. "It kind of sounds like a… growl."

"Grrrrrr… Pig! Let go of my teammate!"

**So that's chapter 3! I hope you all enjoyed.**

**Please review!**


	4. Missions and Merging

**Don't own anything**

**Thank you so much for the reviews! They were so awesome. **

**Anyways, this chapter is going to introduce a new element to Naruto that isn't present in the manga. It's not a huge change-up but it is something that affects his relationship with Sakura and Ino in an interesting way.**

**Have fun!**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

The newly formed team of genin was making their way towards their latest assignment. The Hokage gave them a simple C-rank mission at the recently christened bank of Konoha. Apparently the new state of the art bank vault had a major flaw and now the giant steel door covering the entrance would not open. Mechanics had already tried all manners of entry, but nothing worked.

The problem was that it actually got jammed shut when the door closed incorrectly and the locking mechanism accidentally bent itself inwards. This left them with only one viable option. The complete removal of the door.

The mechanics said they could use blow torches and would be able to open the door in about a day, but unfortunately they didn't have that kind of time. There were people trapped inside the bank vault and, given the air tight seal nature of the door, they only have about half a days worth of air left. Enter Naruto. The portable battering ram. He should be able to destroy the door with no problem and free the people within minutes instead of hours using God Eater. Just a couple taps and that thing will fall like a drunk on a tight rope.

For this mission they didn't need a jonin sensei since it was only given the title of a C-rank because there was a specialized ninja involved; i.e Naruto and his sword. Kakashi had the choice of going, but since it wasn't the full team seven he didn't really feel like it. He was tired from filling out the report about the wave mission all night and decided to take a day off of missions. He had to gather his team later for a quick meeting, but until then he was going to take a nap. This left Naruto alone with the blonde and the pinkette.

So far the entire trip has been an uncomfortable experience for Naruto. While most boys on the street were jealous that he had the beautiful Sakura Haruno on his left arm and the smoldering hot Ino Yamanaka on his right arm, Naruto was sorely confused about two things involving his 'friends.' First, why the hell are they latched onto his arms like leeches? And second, why do they keep glaring at each other?

Like clockwork, every ten steps or so both of the girls would lean forward and glare at each other before quickly pulling their heads back. Just to do the exact same thing in another ten steps. Naruto supposed he was alright with his situation so long as they kept crushing his arms between their breasts just like they were. Good thing for him they were so busy glaring at each other they didn't see his red face. If they thought he was being perverted like this he knew they would probably give him a good ole fashioned ass whooping.

As they walked up the steps to the bank, Naruto shook both of the women off of his arms and jumped up to the top. He knew if he left them where they were it would look odd to whomever they were there to meet and he needed the reputation that befit his future Hokage title. However, in the future, he hoped to walk everywhere with Sakura proudly on his arm.

A man in a business suit walked up to him as Naruto approached the door. "Are you the ninja we hired to open the vault?"

"Yup. The name's Uzumaki Naruto and I'll be your personal locksmith today!" He said with a smile.

The man grabbed Naruto's hand and shook. "It's a pleasure to meet you Uzumaki-san. My name is Hizeshi Sosuke and I am the director of this bank." Hizeshi was brought in from another town to help run the bank, but he knew to never take a ninja lightly. The director never underestimated a shinobi just because they were young or appeared weak, so his greeting to Naruto was laden with the reverence he deserved. Naruto figured he must be new in town or he would probably be disrespecting him just like all of the other townsfolk did.

Sakura and Ino promptly showed up next to Naruto and introduced themselves before they all ventured inside. The genin and the director walked over the marble floors of the lobby while waving hello to the lines of people and occasional ninja guard employed by the bank for security until they made their way to a back room surrounded by several defense systems. "This is the vault right here." Sosuke pointed to a large metal door that appeared to be impenetrable.

Naruto knocked on it once. "Shouldn't be a problem." He said confidently.

Ino smiled at his cute confident grin. She didn't know how he was going to bring down the ultra thick door, but he seemed certain in his ability to do so. She caught herself staring at him again and a slight blush hit her face before she turned her head to see a glaring Sakura. _'I thought we were over this already forehead.' _

Naruto turned to the director. "Hizeshi-san. Are you able to talk to the people in there?"

The director nodded his head. "There is a P.A. system we've been using."

"Could you tell the people in there to stay clear of the door and to cover their ears?" He asked. Again making Ino wonder what exactly Naruto was going to do.

The director nodded once more and left. Now the genin were alone and the awkwardness was beginning to return. The two girls kept glaring at each other while Naruto would occasionally look at his wrist as if he were checking the time. He wasn't wearing a watch, but it was just a nervous habit.

They heard the director's voice over the P.A._ "Okay you can begin. I have informed the people inside to stay clear and cover their ears."_

Naruto heard his go ahead and looked at his gorgeous back up. The situation with the two girls still felt weird to him so he decided to lighten the mood a little. He may look stupid after this, but maybe they won't be so mad at each other anymore. At least he hoped they wouldn't be.

Ino watched Naruto stick his hand out. "Okay then. Let's do some work God Eater." The trademark hilt appeared out of thin air followed by loud metal thunks as the rest of the sword shoved its way into existence.

Ino wasn't surprised that the sword appeared out of nowhere because she thought it came from a simple storage scroll or something that she missed. What she was surprised of was its size. It was nearly as long as he is tall! Now she at least knew he planned to beat the door down with that sword, but could he really do it? The door must be two feet of tempered steel and was made to withstand the strongest of attacks. She believed in him, but this seemed pretty farfetched.

He slowly made his way to the front of the door before looking back at the two girls and smirking. Time to look like a jackass.

"Uzumaki makes his way to the plate for the first time today and I tell ya he is just having a fantastic season so far!" Naruto said to himself with a loud voice.

The two girls stopped glaring at each other and looked at him funny. "Naruto what are…"

He stood in front of the door and put God Eater across his shoulder like he's getting ready to swing. "That's right he is! Just look at that record. On his last at bat he swung an entire jonin out of the park!" Naruto said in a slightly different voice, but still just as loud. He looked over at the two girls and it seemed Ino was lightening up a little so he decided to add her to his fun. "Now let's go to our correspondent on the field Ino-chan!" He said as he smiled at her.

Ino picked up on it. She knew what he was doing and wanted to have fun too so she stepped forward and put her hand to her ear like she was holding in an earpiece. "And what a beautiful day for a ball game! You couldn't ask for better weather." She said joining in on the announcer talk.

Sakura picked up on it now too. They were pretending like they were announcers at a baseball game and Naruto was the batter. Dorks.

Ino perked up. "The rookie Uzumaki has been impressing people all season so far. I'm sure the ladies will be all over him soon." She said half seductively.

Naruto blushed. Sakura raged. Just like Ino thought would happen. The blonde boy pointed his sword at the door and held it for a moment. He was signifying his intent to blow this one out of the park.

Sakura stepped forward this time with her hand to her ear. She wasn't going to let Ino get closer to her teammate than she was. "You are all in for a treat today! Uzumaki has just made the boast! It appears to be out of the park or bust today folks!" She said accidentally getting excited about it.

Naruto puts the sword up. "Here's the pitch!" Ino yelled as Naruto cocked God Eater back. "And!"

THWUNG!

The sound of metal smacking metal was heard as Naruto swung God Eater with all his might into the vault door.

"Its outta here!" The two girls yelled at the same time while making fake crowd applause. Naruto dismissed his sword and held his hands up in triumph as his teammates cheered him on. If Ino was ever impressed with Naruto before, it paled in comparison to now.

The blonde girl looked in the room and saw the door itself caved in and fell backwards into the vault. _'Wow Naruto. When did you learn to do that?'_

Since Naruto's part was done he just watched Ino and Sakura do what they had come there to do. Take care of anyone who may be injured. The girls moved into the vault and he smiled to himself. _'At least they aren't fighting anymore.'_

What was nice was they weren't just faking being able to stand each other; they really weren't fighting anymore. All it took was a little dose of Naruto horsing around to make them realize how silly there little spat was. They had just become friends again and now wasn't the time to ruin their new partnership by fighting over a boy Sakura claims not to like.

(line break)

After no time at all the few clerks that were stuck in the vault were checked out by the genin girls and were deemed well enough to go home for the day marking the end of a successful mission.

While waiting for the girls, Naruto spent most of his time talking to Kotetsu and Izumo. They, along with a few more chuunin showed up as watchdogs for the night until a new door could be put in to protect the items in the vault. It seemed the bank wasn't taking any chances when it came to their money.

Before long the trio of genin was going along their merry way. They immediately returned to the Hokage tower for a quick debrief and collected their checks. It was excellent pay for only about thirty minutes of real work so the team was in good spirits.

Naruto was happy with the outcome of his mission, but it was so boring. He barely had to do anything to get the door down so now he's got a ton of energy and nothing left to do for the day, but train. And train he will. But does he want company?

He looked to his side and saw Ino and Sakura chatting happily, almost as if they were never fighting. They were all walking down the familiar path to their homes before they inevitably needed to split up. Naruto noticed the fork in the road that would separate them and decided to speak up.

"Hey do you guys wanna train with me?" Naruto asked the women.

Ino's eyes brightened. "Yeah!"

Sakura had looked uneasy at first, but after seeing Ino's response she quickly glared at her friend and made a decision. "Sure Naruto."

Ino huffed in annoyance. There goes her alone time with Naruto. _'Sakura you buzzkill.'_

Naruto was oblivious as ever. "Great! Let's go!" He took off ahead of them without waiting.

The two girls didn't even have time to argue. "Wait up baka!"

(line break)

Naruto decided training ground seven was the best place for them. He wanted to suggest some group exercises, but almost as soon as the two girls showed up behind him they began to duel. They didn't even say anything to each other before they lunged forward with clenched fists and began pummeling one another.

Naruto quirked an eyebrow and just sat down to concentrate on recalling his swords without having to hold them. He summoned God Eater and let it settle into the ground before walking a few steps away and sitting down. To anyone walking by it would look like two girls were having a cat fight and some guy is just staring at a sword half stuck in the ground.

The jinchuuriki stared down his blunt blade. "Come on." He groaned as his sword didn't even budge. He stuck his hand towards it. _'Come back to me God Eater!'_ With his mental command the hilt of the sword began to slowly dissolve into the air. It took a full ten minutes for him to recall the entire blade, but once he did he could re-summon it back into his hand. _'Okay that's a start.'_ He set God Eater back into the ground and stepped twice as far away as last time before sitting down and trying again.

(line break)

Meanwhile the two genin girls were battling it out. After about an hour of brawling and grappling they were both becoming extremely tired. Neither one of them was too injured. Just a bruise here and there, but their exhaustion was setting in full force shown through their heavy breaths and sore muscles. It wouldn't be much longer before the match is over.

"I'm going to beat you into submission Ino-pig." Sakura said with a smirk.

Ino smirked back even wider. "Well I'm going to beat you into _admission_ Forehead."

Sakura leaned forward and put her hands on her knees. She looked up through her pink locks at her blonde friend. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Sakura would never admit what Ino wanted to know outright so she would have to coax it out of her. "Why did you come with us today?" Ino asked bluntly. "You know that I was looking for an excuse to spend some time with Naruto to get to know him better and instead I'm stuck here wrestling with you."

"I'm trying to train to become a better kunoichi. You should try it sometime." Sakura goaded.

The mind walker frowned. "If that's the case then why don't you go find Sasuke and train with him? I'm sure that would be more fun for you wouldn't it?"

The pinkette creased her brow in thought. "Umm… he's probably too busy today. Yeah! He's too busy because… he didn't even have time to join us on our mission."

Ino just sighed. This wasn't going to work. Sakura definitely had no plan to admit how deep her feelings for Naruto were. It was easy to see she cared for him. But how much was what Ino wanted to know. To find out she was going to have to really dig into Sakura. Ino smirked at the thought of how pissed her friend is going to be after this.

"You know forehead." Ino stood up straight and stood only a few feet from Sakura. "Pretty soon… I'm going to fuck him." She said with a smirk as she jerked her thumb towards Naruto.

Sakura bit her lip to stop herself from screaming.

"You know it. I know it. He doesn't seem to know it yet, but he will." She said as she looked over at Naruto staring at his sword. "I wonder how big he is." Ino giggled as she put a finger to her lip in thought.

"Ino." Sakura seethed.

"I wonder what it tastes like. I think I'll try to find out later today." Ino smiled. "He should really like that."

Sakura stepped forward. "If you touch Naruto I'll come to your house while you sleep and beat you to death with a tube sock full of hand soaps!"

Ino noted the large vein popping out of her friends head and laughed. "That's kind of a weird thing for a girl to say about a boy she doesn't like. Don't you think?"

Her stupid all knowing grin was making Sakura even more pissed that she already was, but she knew the blonde was right. "I don't like him like that."

"Just admit it already. I bet you would feel a whole lot better."

Sakura clenched her fist. "Can you not hear the words that are coming out of my mouth?" She screamed.

Ino stepped back. "Okay. Okay." She said halfheartedly. "I'll stop pressing you so much about this."

Sakura put her fist down. "Thanks." It was a weak response.

Ino giggled. "I can't believe you thought I was actually going to have sex with him."

Sakura's face gained a twinge of red. The idea that her twelve year old friend doing what she said she would do didn't surprise her. Ino always had been more outgoing than she was. "Whatever."

Before another fight could brew Naruto interrupted by putting a basket between them. "Wow you guys are tough!"

"Thanks Naruto!" Ino said. Sakura only smiled at him.

"You deserve a break." He pointed at the basket between them. "Here. You guys need it."

"Is that food? When did you get it?" Sakura asked.

"I had a clone go get it while you guys were sparring. I knew you would need something after a workout like that."

They both walked over to the woven basket and Naruto opened it up. He handed two small plastic containers to Ino, who promptly opened them. "What?"

Sakura turned to see a very confused look on her friend's face. "What's wrong Ino?"

Naruto walked forward and gave Ino another bowl. "I'm sorry if you don't like it! Here I brought some meat along for protein. You can have that instead."

Ino looked up into Naruto's eyes. "No it's just… how did you know that cherry tomatoes and pudding were my favorite foods?" She held out the two bowls, each of which was filled with their respective chow.

The pinkette smirked at her blonde friend's reaction and wondered if her face looked just as silly when Naruto had done the same thing for her earlier that morning. "Did you hear her in class just like me Naruto?"

He didn't say anything. Naruto just looked between the two and nodded.

"You heard me say in class that I liked cherry tomatoes and pudding and you remembered? I don't even remember saying it." Ino said.

"You said it two years ago. On September twenty third during our history lesson with Iruka-sensei. You were happy because it was your birthday and your mom had promised you all the cherry tomatoes and pudding you could eat." He smiled until he noticed his mistake. He knew too much and his answer was far too detailed. _'Damn. Sakura's staring at me. I should've been more vague.'_

Sakura quirked an eyebrow and promptly moved in front of him. "Naruto."

He looked deep into her emerald eyes. "Yes Sakura-chan."

"Could you tell me what I was wearing that day?" Ino became a little upset because Sakura moved directly between them and she groaned for the pinkette to move.

Her gaze was burning into him and he was beginning to feel self-conscious. Naruto knew why she was asking this question. It was a test. "Umm sure. You had a yellow sundress on. It was an oddly warm day for September so I guess you thought it was a good idea to wear something like that. I felt kind of bad when it dropped ten degrees by the time class was done and you were shivering on your walk home."

Sakura squinted her eyes in thought and looked him up and down. How had she not noticed it before? "Do you have… an eidetic memory?"

Ino blinked in surprise and walked next to her friend to see Naruto. "You mean like a photographic memory?" It wasn't uncommon for a Yamanaka to have it so she knew quite a bit about it.

Sakura nodded and looked to her teammate. "I've noticed you remember details about things I don't even remember happening. How else can you explain it?"

Naruto looked between the two and sighed. "I don't think I have a photographic memory." He said with a small blush on his cheeks.

The girls ignored the fact that he seemed embarrassed and pressed on. "Then how do you remember all these things about us?"

He shifted nervously. Naruto was hoping they would never notice this about him. "It kind of comes and goes. I only have certain times memorized by heart. I don't really try to. It kind of just happens." He mumbled softly.

"So you have sporadic photographic memory? What times do you remember specifically?" Sakura asked. Maybe if she could figure out what triggered his SPM then she could help him use it to train. "Is it a place? Like the classroom?"

He looked down at his feet. "Well… I kind of remember… all the times when…" He trailed off and shut his mouth as his face reddened to a near tomato color.

Sakura was beginning to become agitated. "Come on Naruto. I'm trying to help you."

"But you'll think I'm weird Sakura-chan." He whined.

"I already think you're weird." She huffed. "But if it means anything I swear I won't think you're any weirder because of this." She noticed that didn't give him any more encouragement. Sakura supposed a small compliment was in order. "I think it's kind of cool actually."

He picked his head up. "Cooler than Sasuke?" Naruto said softly.

"No." Sakura deadpanned.

Ino glared at her friend. She never could understand why Sakura never seemed to support her teammate. "I think you're cooler than Sasuke." Ino stated.

He smiled as his confidence went up slightly. She may have only said it to get him to spill the beans, but he still enjoyed hearing it. In fact, why did she say it? She had been acting odd for a while now and it seemed very odd that a co-initiator of the Sasuke fan-base was complimenting him while simultaneously dissing the Uchiha. Naruto doesn't understand why girls do half the shit they do anyways so he stopped stressing over what he thought was nothing.

"Okay… Well the times I really remember are when… I'm with you." He said as he looked up at Sakura nervously.

The pinkette gasped and put her hand to her chest. "Me?"

"Well… Ino-chan too." He said as he turned to look at the blonde girl.

They both wanted to break down. "So you…"

"I literally remember every moment I have ever spent with you." He said awkwardly. They know the truth now. There's no way to hide it anymore. "From the first day I met you to right now. Anytime one of you were near me… I just can't seem to forget."

The two girls were stunned. They hadn't thought about it that way yet. Every second Naruto has spent with them has been committed to his memory forever. They realize that as they stand there and gawk at him he is doing it. Taking in every detail. Memorizing the words they say. The faces they make. Smells, sights, sounds. Everything.

As he looked at their shocked faces he realized this was the very reason he didn't want them to know. He thought they would think he's a freak just like everybody else, but now it's too late. He should've known Sakura would figure it out sooner or later.

To his surprise Ino stepped up to him and put her hand gently against his cheek. "So you are never going to forget this?"

He looked up into her eyes and shook his head. "I couldn't even if I wanted to."

"Good." Ino leaned forward and kissed his cheek lightly. As soon as she leaned back, Naruto placed his fingers over the cool spot Ino had made when her warm lips pulled away. It was one of the most amazing feelings he had ever had. Barely anyone had ever touched him before, let alone kissed him. It reminded him of Sakura's hand on his cheek earlier that day, so warm and comfortable. He just wished she wouldn't have stopped so quickly.

In an effort to get that feeling back he moved forward and pulled his fellow blonde into a hug. When she responded by wrapping her arms around him he smiled as he fell into the sensation of being held by someone.

Sakura let a sad smile cross her face as her teammate and her friend embraced. She wanted to be mad at Ino for moving in on Naruto like that, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. The look in Naruto's eyes was so happy. It was too easy to see no one had ever given him a real hug before. She just wished that maybe she might be the one to make him smile next time.

Ino was surprised when he pulled her towards him. She actually puckered her lips having expected him to have read her mind and known what she had really planned before she chickened out and kissed his cheek instead of his lips. But she wasn't disappointed with a hug. She, just like Sakura, could tell that this meant a lot more to him than some simple gesture of friendship. She had never been able to experience what is known as 'sweet sorrow' in full effect before. Happiness and sadness all rolled into one, but this was definitely it.

His shaky arms let her know how nervous he was about his own actions. She figured since he remembered everything about her he must be recalling the times she beat him for no reason and he probably thinks this might invoke her wrath. Soon he will realize that she will never hurt him like that again. Unless he deserved it of course.

Ino felt herself melt into Naruto arms like butter. This was the headway she had been waiting for! Finally they were able to connect on a deeper level than just small talk and quiet lunches. They probably would have stood there holding each other all day if they weren't interrupted.

"Ahem."

All three of the genin turned to see Kakashi and Sasuke standing next to each other.

"Are we interrupting something?" Kakashi asked with a slightly amused tone in his voice.

'_Yes you are!_' Ino mentally screamed.

Naruto leaned back to look into Ino's eyes and he mouthed a thank you. She could tell how much happier he was after something as simple as a hug. "I suppose not." Naruto said as he unhappily let go of Ino and walked towards the newly arrived duo.

Ino dropped her arms and pouted. "Well this seems like team business so I'll go." Sakura and Naruto both smiled and nodded to her. "Oh and Sakura, Naruto. Be sure to stop by the shop and visit sometime!" She said before running off.

The team watched her jump off into the trees before the sensei of the group spoke. "I bet you're wondering why I have gathered you here." He said in a sing song voice while sporting an eye smile.

"Stop procrastinating and just tell us." Instead of pining over the arrival of Sasuke she seemed to be disturbed by the interruption he presented. No one saw the light in the Uchiha's eyes at the prospect of losing a fan girl.

"Alright." Kakashi scratched the back of his head and mumbled about impatient and hormonal brats. He should count his blessings that Sakura didn't hear him and swiftly curve stomp his balls into powder.

"I have an offer for you three." He pulled a small stack of forms out from under his vest and handed them off to his team.

The one eyed jonin observed their faces as they read. Not a single hint of nervousness, only joy. "Hell yeah!" Of course it was Naruto who just had to yell.

"I take it that means you would like to go?"

Even Sasuke was having trouble containing his excitement over the prospect of advancement. So much so he decided to speak for once. "I share in Naruto's enthusiasm." The black haired boy said unenthusiastically.

Naruto laughed at the irony of Sasuke's response.

"Are you serious Kakashi-sensei? Do you think we're ready for the chuunin exams?" Sakura was surprised that they were given this option. After all, their last mission didn't exactly go according to plan.

"I do. You all showed excellent teamwork throughout every training session we have had. In the field that is the most important thing a ninja can have." Years of experience have taught him what a cooperative team can really do and they have shown him that they have an unlimited potential to excel. "Rely on each other and as you grow as individuals make sure you grow as a team. On our last mission you pushed each other and developed quickly into a chuunin level unit. But just in case, I have the next three weeks to make sure you operate like a well oiled machine."

The three genin beamed at the praise they received. The instructor was being uncharacteristically nice to them. In fact he was too nice. It was beginning to worry them. "Umm sensei?" Naruto asked. "Is there something wrong?"

Kakashi leaned back and put a mock hand to his chest. "Is it so wrong for a sensei to believe in his team?" He said in fake shock.

"Well..."

"I just wanted to offer you all a few encouraging words before you were sent off to a possible death and likely maiming." He said in his all too casual tone.

Silence... and then. "WHAT!" They screamed together.

He tapped a finger to his chin. "Oh. I forgot to mention that huh? The chuunin exams are very dangerous."

"B..but sensei." Naruto stammered.

"Don't worry so much Naruto. It may be a dangerous test, but I will do my utmost to prepare you all."

"I hope that doesn't include stealing my student Copy Cat." A familiar gruff voice cut in.

Naruto quickly turned his head when he heard the deep voice. "Zabuza!"

No one could see under the bandages that covered his face, but they assumed the tall man with the giant sword was just as happy to see the blonde boy as the boy was to see him. "Hey gaki."

Naruto ignored the insult in favor of greeting the other newcomer. "Haku! You're here too!"

The feminine boy bowed slightly and gave a small smile. "Of course Naruto-kun. We said we would come see you as soon as we were able." Sakura found it hard to believe this soft featured person with the light voice and pink robe could possibly be a boy, but there was only one way to find out for sure and she wasn't going to take that adventure.

Zabuza threw a scroll at Kakashi. "This is my student now. Go find your own!"

The one eyed ninja opened the scroll and read through it as fast as he could in hopes that Zabuza was lying. "He's only your student for two weeks. Then he comes back to me for team training before the exams."

Zabuza scoffed. "Whatever. This brat's part of our probation." He said as he smacked Naruto across the back with force. He definitely left a bruise. "We get to train you up and then I can go on some real missions!"

Kakashi sighed. It was for the best that Zabuza was training him to use his swords. When Naruto gets back he will still be able to do the team training Kakashi had assigned for them. Besides, he couldn't really help the blonde swordsman in that department anyways.

It may have been for the best that Naruto was going to leave, but that doesn't mean he had to like it. He knew Zabuza would do a good job teaching the boy, but Kakashi wanted to be the one to teach his former sensei's son. He pushed back those jealous thoughts for the betterment of Naruto. The one eyed jonin just didn't want to lose the last bit of his teacher he had left.

Kakashi was already about to hand off Sakura for the first two weeks for specialized training with another jonin instructor so why couldn't Naruto do the same? He had recently struck a deal with Kurenai for a switch. She would teach Sakura genjutsu and he would teach her team ninjutsu since none of team eight was adept at attacking or defending with it.

The plain fact is, Sakura had a huge potential for advancement in genjutsu, but he doesn't have the knowledge to help her out in the way she needed. This way she got to train one on one with a genjutsu master for the equivalent amount of time Kakashi taught Kurenai's genin. Since he planned on teaching Sasuke the very skills team eight needed, the arrangement was actually like fate.

"Fine. Naruto, I'll see you in two weeks. Keep me updated on your progress so I can develop a regimen for our team training." Kakashi resigned to his fate.

"Hai Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto was so enthused. He thought this training was going to be awesome. But, judging by the maniacal look on Zabuza's face, he was so very wrong.

(line break)

Two weeks passed by like a dream for Sakura. She picked up Kurenai's teachings like a fish to water. Even the genjutsu mistress herself was impressed with the pinkette's abilities. Armed with an arsenal of illusions, Sakura was going to meet up with team seven for the cooperative portion of their training. She had to admit a certain glum feeling had overtaken her from being away from the rest of her team for so long. It felt good to know she was about to see them. Finally, Naruto will be able to cheer her up again.

As she approached the training ground she looked around for signs of her blonde friend. In the back she could see a faint red splotch leaning against a tree. As she looked closer Sakura could see the familiar pale blonde hair sticking out of the top of a crimson cape.

"Naruto!" She yelled and waved to the boy only to receive a faint wave in return. He wasn't nearly as excited to see her as she had hoped.

"Oi. Sakura-chan." Naruto stood and slowly glided over to Sakura.

As she peered up at her teammate the first thing she noticed is that he was even taller and his hair was even more pale and long than before. The next thing she noticed is he had another change of wardrobe. Now a tattered red, knee length cloak was draped around his shoulders and a thick collar covered anything below his nose.

He used his index finger to pull down the front of the collar and revealed his mouth. "It's nice to see you again." He said it too quietly for her liking and he refused to lock eyes with her no matter how hard she tried to get in his view.

Upon hearing Kakashi and Sasuke arrive, Naruto turned and revealed a very large bump on his back that was hidden by his cloak. Sakura couldn't tell what it was. Maybe a backpack? It would have to be full, judging by the size of the bulge.

Naruto was taken away by Kakashi for a moment. She watched as the two conversed with each other, neither one of them showed any emotion as to what they were talking about. The only clue she had about what they said was something she faintly heard Kakashi say as he walked back to her and Sasuke. "It's for you to tell." He said to Naruto.

From then on almost no words were exchanged between them. As soon as team practice was done Naruto would quickly excuse himself and run off. If they ever did speak it was in short sentences and only about training. And he still refused to lock eyes with her.

Nonetheless, training was going well. They were a well organized unit and had developed some formations that will benefit them greatly during the exams. They seemed to flow together. Like they always knew where each other were at all times and they could coordinate without speaking.

In the last two weeks everyone had gotten stronger. Sasuke had some serious fire jutsu and a noticeably larger chakra reservoir. Sakura's illusions were like a seamless transition from reality. You wouldn't even know you were in one unless she wanted you to. But Naruto had the most notable change. He no longer walked. He seemed to silently glide everywhere. He left no footprints. He made no noise. On top of that he had a much better form with God Eater. His movements were no longer choppy, but more fluid and precise and he seemed to swing the weight around easier than before.

He never took Masamune out during training or otherwise. When questioned he only said it was not made for team exercises.

Still, it perturbed Sakura that Naruto was so detached. Every once in a while his cloak would flow up and she would try to catch a glimpse of what he was hiding on his back, but every time she wasn't able to get a good enough angle to catch it. The front of the cape opened enough for her to see what he was wearing at least. A tight, purple cutoff shirt tucked into black pants, which were held up with suspenders and tucked into some black combat boots. She had to admit it looked cool on him.

Although his new aloof attitude matched his elegant good looks, she still wanted the old Naruto back. There was no need for another Sasuke. For that reason she was in her current situation. The situation was Sakura, standing outside Naruto's door, waiting to knock. She lightly wrapped on the door three times and waited for an answer. There was a shuffling on the other side and after a few seconds the door slowly opened to reveal Naruto still covered by his red cloak and the large bump still on his back.

"Oh hello Sakura-chan. How can I help you?" He said quietly.

She was beginning to get tired of this depressing version of Naruto. What the hell did Zabuza do to him? "Hey Naruto. I was wondering if I could come in for a bit and talk." She asked, but she was going to talk to him whether he wanted to or not.

"Umm... I'm not sure..."

She cut him off. "Please... Naruto-kun." Sakura had wanted to say it for a while. The '-kun' suffix rolled off her tongue just like she thought it would, but the situation was all wrong. It didn't feel like it was the right time for her to say it, but she didn't know that until the deed was done.

Naruto was taken back. She has never called him Naruto-kun before. And the tone in her voice was so sad. He hated hearing her like that so he slowly moved to one side and opened the door for her. It made him unhappy that the first time she used the suffix he longed to hear from her would be forever known as a sad moment. And of course, he would never able to forget it even if he wanted to. But he knew why she did it. It comforted him to know she was worried for his well being. In fact, she was worried so much that she would pull out all the stops just to get in the door.

She never expected to see what she saw when she walked into his apartment. Sakura expected a dirty, unorganized place for a dirty, unorganized boy. Instead she found herself surrounded by chalkboards of equations and giant stacks of organized papers. As she peered at the equations she noticed that they were all calculus based astrophysics and theory based phenomena.

"Naruto. What is all of this?" She asked as she looked up at a particularly large problem on a board.

"Theories. Probabilities. Trends." She finally noticed that his voice was slightly deeper than two weeks before.

"What do they all mean?" She asked curiously. "And when did you learn all of this?"

"What you are looking at is an attempt I am making at causing a minor fusion reaction and then exploding it." It sounded so weird to hear Naruto say something so intelligent. "And I've been doing some… reading lately." He hadn't read a single thing concerning physics. Everything on those boards came directly from his thoughts. It was another gift from the pale man. It seemed the merging was causing Naruto to steal knowledge and as it turns out the silver haired beast was a master of creating impossible physical anomalies. It frightened him to no end to know that his mind was being invaded with other's thoughts.

"You mean you're creating a sun?" She took what he said as truth and went straight to the fact that he is trying to create a star and then explode it. "Wait! Explode it? Are you crazy?"

"I'm sorry, but once the reaction starts it is doomed to become a _supernova_."

"Naruto that's too dangerous. You can get hurt!" Her worry for him caused the blonde to smile behind his collar, not that she could see.

"I know. That's why I was never actually going to do it."

Why won't he look at me? "Naruto. I've wanted to talk to you for a…"

"I'm very sorry Sakura-chan. Would it be okay if we talked a little later?" He said quietly.

Enough was enough. "I want to know what's wrong right now Naruto." She said firmly. There was a promise of pain if he didn't comply. "What are you hiding?" She moved forward and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "We're on the same team. I don't know what's going on, but let me help you."

He looked into her eyes for the first time in weeks. She was shocked to see the massive amount of turmoil and fear tossing around behind his glowing blue orbs. "I… want to tell you, but I'm not ready. Please give me a little longer." He took her hand and removed it from his shoulder, but didn't let go. "I promise that you will find out what you want to know before long."

She blushed lightly at the contact between their fingers. "O…okay Naruto." She sighed. "When you're ready." It hurt her to say it. She wanted him to just open up like he did two weeks earlier with Ino, but she would have to wait.

(line break)

Sakura left Naruto's home just as abruptly as she came. She would see him soon anyways. The chuunin exams were only one day away and eventually she knew that he would let her know what is going on. Sakura didn't have time to dwell on it now though. She had to prepare for the exams.

After going over a few genjutsu exercises she decided some relaxation time was in order so she did the thing she always does when she has the time. She took a walk.

It always calmed to her to look at the architecture of Konoha or watch the busy lives of the people in the downtown district as they scurry to their next location. She had been known to spend full days just walking around her hometown. However today she didn't have that luxury. She wanted to make sure she was home extra early so she could sleep and be ready for the exam.

On her way back from the shopping district she heard a yell that sounded like a young boy.

"Let me go you freak!" She rounded the corner to see the Hokage's grandson Konohamaru being held up by a ninja covered in makeup and wearing a strange cat suit.

"You need to learn some manners." The Cat man said.

"Kankuro that's enough. We were told not to start trouble." A woman with sandy blonde hair and a giant fan said.

"I won't kill him or anything Temari."

"Hey. Let him go." Sakura stepped forward and forcibly removed his hand from Konohamaru's collar. As soon as the boy hit the ground he scowled at Kankuro.

"Go." She said. Konohamaru squeaked out a quick thank you and took off.

"You Konoha ninja have no manners." Sakura turned around to see him, but as soon as she did the make up covered boy stepped forward, raised a hand above his head, and strongly slapped Sakura to the ground.

The ringing in her ears was deafening. In fact, he had hit her so hard she was near passing out and everything was starting to blur. She felt so pathetic lying in front of an enemy that nearly rendered her unconscious with one swing. But to be fair it didn't feel like a hand had hit her. It felt more like a solid plank of wood walloped her across the face.

"Kankuro you idiot! You're going to get _him_ mad!" Sakura heard the woman yell. She didn't to who they were referring to, but she could hear the trembling in Temari's voice so she knew this person scared them.

"Actually." She heard a familiar deep voice accompanied by a light breeze. "You've made me mad instead." Sakura looked up to see Naruto standing above her sending harsh glares at the sand ninja. A warm feeling grew in her chest to see him defending her like this.

"Naruto?" She asked.

He turned to look at her. "Sakura-chan. I need you to do something for me." She didn't say anything so he continued. "Please close your eyes."

Sakura struggled into a sitting position. "Why?"

"Please… just for a little bit… close your eyes." He pleaded with her.

"You didn't answer my question. Why?" Her vision had begun to clear up and she could plainly see the concern in his eyes. Also, the prominence on his back seemed to be moving. It shook violently, almost as if it was agitated.

"I… don't want your opinion of me to change." He hesitantly said. "Please."

She had no idea what he could've meant by that, but against her better judgment she complied. As she closed her eyes and entered a world of darkness, she could still hear Naruto's alluring voice appeal to her. "Just count back from ten and then open your eyes. Everything will be okay. I promise."

**10**

"What are you gonna do? We're visitors here." She heard Kankuro say.

"You come to my village…" Naruto's voice rang out in anger.

**9**

"Settle down man. I'm sorry. Alright?"

"You attacked a child…"

**8**

"Hey just back up before I hurt you!" She heard a shuffling from Naruto. It sounded like his cloak was moving.

"You attacked my teammate…"

**7**

"What? What is that?" Sakura could feel the wind pick up around her as Kankuro yelled.

"You deserve punishment."

**6**

"Kankuro! Don't go near him!" Sakura heard Temari scream.

"How dare you touch Sakura-chan!" Naruto growled.

**5**

After a strong breeze, Sakura heard a loud impact and the sound of wood being splintered entered her ears.

**4**

Another impact followed closely after the first one.

**3**

And another.

**2**

And another.

**1**

She opened her eyes to a completely different scene. Naruto was still standing in the same place with his cloak fully covering his back, but in front of him was a pile of dust at the bottom of a small crater. Kankuro was no where in sight, but Temari was standing there with her mouth agape. If Sakura wasn't mistaken she was… blushing?

Sakura decided to send a few concentrated glares at Temari. The blonde girl was eyeing Naruto like a piece of meat and the pinkette was beginning to get upset.

"Let that be a warning." Naruto said firmly while looking at the bandaged carrier Kankuro had on his back earlier. After a few seconds, Sakura was surprised to see it begin to move and unwrap to reveal an untouched Kankuro. She soon realized that he was hiding in the wrappings the whole time and that the person she saw earlier must have been a fake.

As soon as the sand ninja escaped his wrappings he ran over to the pile of dust and over-dramatically clutched the remains. "My puppet!" He cried like a baby.

A tick mark formed on Temari and she brought her knuckles down on her brother's head with womanly justice. "That's what you get you moron! I can't believe you hit her! What would you have done if Gaara saw you?"

Almost on cue, a wave of sand came crashing past Naruto and plowed straight into the cat-boy's chest until it pinned him against a tree.

"What did I tell you?" Naruto and Sakura turned their heads to see a red haired boy with a giant gourd on his back and the kanji for love tattooed on his forehead. His eyes looked angry and ragged and judging by the bags under them it seemed like he hadn't slept in a very long time.

"I'm (cough) sorry." Kankuro choked out as sand began to cover his face.

"Gaara please." Temari pleaded with the shorter boy.

The newly arrived sand ninja turned his head to stare down the woman and she cowered in fear.

Sakura had not been this frightened since the day on the bridge. It was plain to see that this guy wanted to kill them. Not just Temari or Kankuro. Everyone.

The sand slowly crept off of the cat-boy's body and judging from the look on Gaara's face it pained him not to kill Kankuro.

"We will leave. Now." The red head stated. The two other sand ninja said nothing. They just promptly shunshined away.

Gaara was fully prepared to leave, but voices of civilians stopped him before he activated a shunshin.

"You demon! What did you do to this place? You've wrecked it!" A brunette man in his late thirties shouted.

Gaara grunted. How did they know he was a demon? If Konoha already knew what he was then the plan may already be ruined! The red head turned to look at the mob of civilians that must have been attracted by the sound of fighting. Instead of the hateful glares he thought he would be receiving, they were not even looking at him. They were staring at Naruto and they were obviously out for blood. _'Him?'_

Gaara had heard the same thing his whole life in his own village. 'You're a demon.' 'Nobody will ever love you.' He looked over at the blonde boy to see his sad expression as the people cursed him. These townsfolk were obviously going to blame him no matter what the circumstance. The only one to defend him was the pink girl, but her voice fell upon deaf ears.

It wasn't as a favor and certainly not for kindness, but the sand user felt these people needed to die for what they had said. He quickly hardened some sand and launched it at the group. Gaara reveled in the fear he saw in their eyes as his projectile sped towards them.

His euphoria was cut short as his sand was obliterated by a greatsword. Standing in front of the crowd that had just ridiculed him was a stern Naruto. He seemed to be prepared to fight to the death for the people who hate him. _'Why do you protect them?'_ Gaara would have loved to kill the boy now, but he had to wait. This entire village will be his reward for patience.

As he watched the people flee, the gaze of the insane sand wielder turned to Naruto. "What is your name?" He skipped the formality of introducing himself first.

"Uzumaki Naruto. And you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto." Gaara said quietly to himself. "I look forward to killing you." He said before leaving with a shunshin.

As the sand from Gaara's exit settled Naruto let out a chuckle. "What a weirdo." He scratched the back of his head and smiled.

Sakura broke out of her frightened shock to smack him across the head. "Shut up baka!"

"Ehhhh Sakura-chaaaaan. Why did you hit me?" He whined.

"Cause you deserved it!" She screamed. It took every fiber of her being to hold back a smile. Finally, Naruto was showing some signs of life! He wasn't moping around at all and he even laughed a little. It had been three weeks since Sakura last heard that chuckle and she underestimated how much she actually missed it. _'Stupid heroic baka.'_

Before she knew what she was doing the pinkette had already wrapped him in hug. She kept her arms low enough to not grab whatever it was he was hiding under his cape, but she squeezed him with all of her might. "Thank you." She whispered.

Naruto wrapped his arms back around her and smiled. "Anytime."

**That's chapter 4! I hope you liked it.**

**The photographic memory was just kind of a convenient plot device to bring them closer together. To bind them in a way that was beyond the physical.**

**The counting backwards from ten thing was something I stole from Black Butler. It was so awesome I just had to put it in. **

**Just to let everyone know, I haven't chosen every sword yet so I am open to more ideas. I have already chosen a couple, but not all. So suggest something in a review and I will research it!**

**Please review if you have the inclination to do so… cuz I love em. **


	5. The sword of the the brave

**Don't own anything.**

**Thanks for all the ideas for swords! It's going to take me a bit to sort through and research them, but more suggestions are always welcome.**

**Loved the reviews guys!**

**There's a ton-o-action in this chapter so sit back and feel the G's! But then there's some lovey dovey stuff at the end for all you romantics.**

**I don't know if this gets any of you excited for what's to come or not, but this chapter has an alternate title. I thought about naming it I've returned.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

Ino sat comfortably in her desk staring at the back of Naruto's head, or what little bit she could see with the high collar his tattered cloak in the way and the recently formed protuberance blocking her vision. She had nothing better to do during the written portion of the chuunin exams anyways. Realistically, she could answer the questions on the paper herself. After all, she was the top kunoichi in her genin class and only second overall to Sasuke (Look it up. It's actually true). But why do more work than she has to when she knows Sakura will have the right answers? The pink braniac was the smartest in the class so without a doubt her answers will be more precise and, as soon as she finishes her paper, Ino can do a little mind control magic and steal everything.

Sure enough, Sakura turned over her paper before anyone else in class and adopted that smug look on her face. _'Perfect.'_ With a few hand signs Ino was staring through the green eyes of Sakura at every answer to the test they were given by Ibiki. As quickly as she could, she memorized all of the answers and prepared to cancel the jutsu. Just before she was about to release it she looked up to see Naruto's blue eyes looking into hers.

He looked at Ino's limp body lying across her desk and then back at Ino in Sakura's body before laughing and waving a finger back and forth. She blushed as he mouthed the word 'naughty' to her. _'He's so cute!'_ Ino seductively bit her/Sakura's lip and gave him a quick wink before canceling the jutsu and waking up in her body.

She looked over to see Sakura come around and pat herself to let her know she was back in control. The pinkette quickly swiveled around and flipped the blonde girl off in the middle of the class. 'Bitch.' She mouthed. Ino shrugged it off with a laugh and filled out her paper before taking over Choji and Shikamaru to do the same.

(line break)

Sakura knew Ino had the choice to make her forget she used the mind control jutsu on her. Instead she let her remember being taken over and everything that she did while in her body. Such as, winking at Naruto and biting her lip with desire for him.

It was unbelievably embarrassing, but at least Naruto was beginning to act like his old self again. He joked around with Ino (even if it was at Sakura's expense) and smiled more. Whatever the problem he had was, he must have either gotten over it or is just trying to ignore it for now. Either way she was glad he was semi normal again, as normal as he was at least.

She turned to see Sasuke lounging with an overturned paper. Sakura figured he probably used his sharingan to grab the answers from someone while they were doing their test. As weird as it sounds, she hoped he had enough faith in her to steal her answers.

Before she took the recent trip to Naruto's house she may have been worried about his results during this exam, but after seeing his oddly sudden intellect shine through she had no doubt that he did well. By the looks of things he was already finished with the test. His hands were resting behind his head while he leaned back in the uncomfortable wood chairs they gave them. His thick black boots rested on the table next to his paper and he had pulled his forehead protector over his eyes to cut out the light while he took a nap.

Sakura was beginning to notice some confusing feelings concerning her blonde teammate. When Naruto was unhappy she was unhappy. Now that he seemed okay she felt calm. _'Since when did my happiness depend on his?'_ She thought maybe it was because they had become close enough friends that she wanted him to be happy. Nonetheless, she was content now and that's all that mattered.

A small stirring to Naruto's side caught Sakura's attention. It was Hyuga Hinata and she was staring at Naruto with her byakugan blaring and her mouth agape. Almost like he could feel her eyes watching him, Naruto turned his head and used a finger to lift his forehead protector so he could see the pale Hyuga. He noted her blank stare and slightly pink face before realizing what she was doing. The byakugan could see under his cloak. Sakura could see him panic and just like that his brief moment of normality was gone.

He put the protector back over his eye and went back to 'sleeping'. Sakura knew he was never actually taking a nap, but now it was fairly obvious he wasn't. His face was curved into a frown and his breaths were very deep and heavy. Obviously, he didn't realize team 8 was also chosen to be at the exams and now he was afraid Hinata was going to tell everyone what she saw. Sakura made a mental note to corner Hinata later and ask what was under the cloak.

Throughout the rest of the exam, Naruto remained shiftless. Even with the threat of expulsion from the last 'question' he didn't move. It was depressing to see someone who used to be so cheerful and full of life seem dead and uncaring. Nothing could make him budge until after Ibiki told them they all passed.

It was then Anko Mitarashi came blasting through the window with the giant banner that said her name. Or at least it was supposed to. Instead of saying 'Anko Mitarashi, examiner' the banner said 'Anko Mitarashi, best head in town.'

Naruto actually took the time to look up and see what all the commotion was about. He even threw a smirk as Anko flipped out and threatened to kill the entire class; asking who had the balls to comment on her awesome blowjob skills. Sakura laughed at the woman who was so angrily admitting the truth of the banner's statement.

Sakura could tell that sloppy writing anywhere. It was definitely Naruto who messed with her flag. It made her smile to see his prank. It had been way too long since his last one on Kakashi-sensei a few weeks earlier. Of course she was going to have to beat him for being a pervert regardless, but it was still nice to see that side of him again.

"Just come to training ground forty four!" Anko screamed.

Once the brunette examiner's tirade was finished she angrily threw a bunch of waivers all across the room and left. The genin all picked up a sheet off the floor and filed out of the room to the next destination. Naruto didn't make it three feet out of the door before Sakura brought her knuckles down on his head.

"Oww! What was that for?" Naruto asked as he rubbed his sore head.

"You know damn well what that was for! I know your writing when I see it Naruto." Sakura screamed.

He chuckled nervously. "Oh. Hehe. I suppose you didn't think it was as funny as I did, huh?"

Another crack across the head sent Naruto to the dirt. Sakura noted that she had to jump in order to hit him downwards because of his increased height. Also, she noted that his hair seemed silkier than before as her knuckles grazed his head.

"Sakura. Stop beating on our teammate. We have to be in top form for the next section of the exams." Sasuke chided.

She sighed and picked Naruto off the ground. "I suppose you're right. But don't think this is over just yet." She squeezed the blonde's arm extra tight.

Naruto dropped his head. "Hai Sakura-chan."

(line break)

It didn't take long before they had been given a scroll and were already inside the forest of death for the next part of the exams. Sakura was still seething over a good luck kiss Ino had given Naruto just before they left. It was only on the cheek again, but the pinkette could tell her friend was trying to make these 'innocent' kisses a regular thing and there was no way in hell she was letting that happen.

But for now she had more important things to think about. Like where they are going to find the opposite scroll to theirs, for one. In team seven's possession was an earth scroll. They were told they needed to find a team with a heaven scroll and steal it by any means necessary, even if they had to kill them, although it is not encouraged.

Every team started in different locations so they don't really know where to begin. They decided the best course of action was to locate a water source so they could at least know where people will have to go at some point.

It took them a day and a half before they made it to the river that ran through the forest. They decided to set up a small camp a fair distance away and then split up to scout around for enemies. They would meet back at their camp at least five times a day to let the others know what information they had gathered and also to let them know they were okay.

When splitting up as often as they were, it's important to know that your friends may not always be the ones who greet you when you return to camp. That's why Kakashi had taught them a few tricks before the exam. He took them to the 'How to tell if this is your teammate or an enemy in a henge 101' class and schooled them a little.

The most important rule to remember is an enemy in a henge won't know anything about team signals. Therefore, they came up with a system. Whenever they met back up, Naruto must have God Eater out or he had to take it out, Sasuke had to have his sharingan activated and he needed to clench his right fist and put it in his pocket, and Sakura had to tuck her thumb underneath her pointer finger with each hand. Each cue could be done so fast that it could easily be misconstrued by an enemy as a normal action.

They were supposed to be small unnoticeable things or things that no one else could do, such as summoning Naruto's sword or using the sharingan. Hopefully, no one would pick up on their physical cues because they were also accompanied with a verbal prompt. One person would ask 'what is the profession of a ninja?' and the other would have to reply 'to see underneath the underneath.'

They were hoping their enemy would be so focused on the phrase they needed to say that they would never notice the small gestures that were just as necessary.

All these tricks were about to come in handy as team seven was just blown apart by a large gust of wind plowing through the forest.

(line break)

Sasuke coughed as he leaned forward. _'Where did that attack come from?_' He stood and patted the dust off before scurrying to find his teammates. In no time at all Sakura had found him. Suspiciously fast actually.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura jumped in from his left. "Are you okay?"

"What is the profession of a ninja?" Sasuke asked with a clenched fist falling into his pocket while his other hand pulled out a kunai.

She non-chalantly flashed him the visual cue with her fingers. "To see underneath the underneath."

Sasuke sighed in relief and put his kunai away. "Have you seen Naruto?"

"Over here teme." Naruto replied from behind them.

They turned around to see the blonde jinchuuriki still covered in his red, tattered cloak and giving them a smile as he held a kunai in front of him. Sakura and Sasuke both whip out kunai of their own and flash the signal. "What is the profession of a ninja?"

"To see underneath the underneath." Naruto replied casually.

Sasuke didn't even pause before responding. "Good. Let's go dobe." Sasuke and Sakura jumped into the trees with Naruto following them.

As Naruto circled around the tree he felt the cold steel of a kunai pressed to his neck. "Who are you and where is my teammate?" The dark haired boy asked.

"What are you talking about? It's me! Naruto!" The blonde yelled.

Sasuke didn't hesitate at all in cutting into his neck while Sakura moved in front of the impostor to position a kunai under his ribcage. "Don't play me for a fool! Who are you?"

Naruto closed his eyes. "Kukuku you're clever Sasuke-kun. What did I miss?"

"Your incompetence doesn't matter to me! Where is Naruto?"

The impostor leaned forward and let the kunai sink deep into his chest and neck until it nearly decapitated him. The genin backed away as the corpse melted into a brown mush and sloughed off of the tree. _'A mud clone?'_

"I didn't touch your teammate. I don't want him. Just you." A lighter voice spoke from his left.

Sasuke pulled out another kunai and turned to see a young, female grass genin with long black hair. Her beige outfit looked quite plain and in all honesty she didn't look like an extraordinary ninja. However, there was something unnerving about her eyes. Even more frightening than her was the large snake she was atop. It must have been the length of a football field!

"Sakura! Get out of here!" He yelled as he looked into the eyes of the grass ninja.

He froze in terror. In the eyes of their enemy, Sasuke could see how he was going to die. It was going to be a kunai to the head. He had never felt a fear like this before, not even when Zabuza had arrived in the wave. He wanted to tell himself that this was an illusion and he could over power it, but his body was too frightened to move.

Sakura was frozen as well as tears poured out of her eyes and she tried to catch her voice for a scream that never came. Her training with Kurenai let her know this was not a genjutsu, but no matter how hard she tried she couldn't overcome it.

They both watched the woman casually glide off of the giant snake and onto the nearest branch. With a small tap on the reptile's side it launched itself full force at the two frightened genin and as the multi ton animal sailed towards them, they truly felt despaired.

With only the small fluttering of his red cloak to signify his appearance, Naruto glided onto the scene. Leaving only a moment to spare he called forth God Eater and halted the snake with all of his might.

It took most of his concentration to push his chakra through the tree and into the roots so that his weight was dispersed and the overwhelming heaviness of his sword didn't cause the branch he was on to break.

With his sword bashing into the snout of the beast he used the culmination of his strength to push the giant snake away and onto the ground below and with heavy labored breaths he turned to see his teammates. "What are ya? A scaredy cat?" He mocked to Sasuke.

Even with the frightened expression on the black haired boy's face due to the concentrated killer intent he received via the grass kunoichi, Naruto could still see him scoff.

"Ah… you are Naruto-kun." The blonde boy turned to see the grass genin speak. "So nice for us to finally meet. Sasuke-kun has talked about you so much."

Naruto locked his red, kyuubi filled eyes with the snake slit ones of his enemy. "Shut up and let them go!"

The intruder smirked. "Oh that's right! You're the kyuubi brat. I can't just let you go unchecked now can I?" She said quietly enough for only him to hear as she lunged forward.

Naruto prepared for an attack, but received something far greater than he expected. It was more like an onslaught as the kunoichi charged him with speed greater than he had ever seen and relentlessly assaulted him with moves he had no way to counter.

The blonde boy swung God Eater with all of his might, but he might as well have been swinging at air. The grass ninja was far too fast for the slow strikes Naruto tried to deliver and if he didn't formulate a new plan soon he was done for. With a heavy heart he resigned to his trump card as he dismissed God Eater.

"Masamune."

A seven foot blade crept out of the darkness that was the hilt of the Masamune. With renewed vigor and speed Naruto charged the kunoichi in an attempt to wound her. He would show her what the power of this unruly sword could achieve when it was in his hands.

Unfortunately, the gaze of the grass ninja had already averted to Naruto's pink haired teammate. The killer kunoichi smirked as she launched a kunai towards Sakura's heart at a speed too fast for him to intercept on foot.

Naruto shook with fear as the metal shot toward his crush. He really didn't want to resort to this, but it seems he had no choice. His teammates were about to realize he is a monster. Better they hate Naruto and are alive, then like him and are dead. To this end, he moved his cloak off of his back and prepared to stop the kunai the only way he could.

(line break)

Sakura saw the kunai coming towards her and tried to break out of her paralysis. She felt her limbs budge slightly, but the object was still going to crash into her chest even though she had moved a few centimeters out of its way. She just had to get a little further and maybe the kunai would just impale her shoulder instead of hitting a fatal area. The pinkette closed her eyes and pushed as hard as she could to the side while awaiting for the thump sound the kunai would make when it dug into her flesh.

She heard the sound signifying the connection of her skin with the kunai and she hoped the pain wouldn't be too severe, but the pain never came. Her eyes fluttered open to see a jet black covering in front of her. _'What is that?'_ Her eyes moved to its origin to see the back of Naruto's cloak raised and a black entity jutting out from behind him and reaching all the way to her. When a feather hit her face she realized what it was. _'It's a wing!_'

When Sakura saw Naruto's face she realized that this is why he had been so closed off lately. He was scared. No doubt he thought they would fear him because of what he thought he was becoming.

But the circumstance couldn't be more opposite. In her opinion, the large wing jutting out of his back was elegant. Beautiful even. It made him look… angelic. Like a fallen seraphim come to earth. How could he think otherwise? His visage is almost like a fairytale description of grace. He was just being too critical of himself.

Of course she understood why he was scared to let them know about the wing. It was yet another mark of the demented madman that still keeps her up at night by haunting her dreams with death and destruction. But Naruto had to understand that she doesn't associate him with the pale skinned monster that lives within his soul. The blonde boy would always be the same to her and his outward appearance made no difference. She would just have to prove that to him. If they survive this encounter of course.

(line break)

Naruto released a breath of relief as he pulled his wing back towards him. He had saved Sakura just in the nick of time, even if it was at the cost of their friendship. However, his next breath got caught in his throat as he felt a deathly cold hand grab his wrist and crush it with the power of a vice.

"Is this the power of the Kyuubi?" Naruto heard the voice of the grass genin next to him and realized that the attempt on Sakura's life was only a distraction as his enemy had caught him defenseless. "I'll just have to throw an extra padlock on that cage kukuku."

Naruto was overturned in an instant and his stomach was forced into the air. As the tips of the fingers on the kunoichi's hand began to glow, Naruto realized what she was about to do. "No don't! You don't know what you're doing!"

His screams went unheard as the grass ninja plunged her fingers deep into the seal on his stomach. "FIVE ELEMENT SEAL!" The blonde jinchuuriki screamed in horror and convulsed in her hands as he felt his connection with the Kyuubi disintegrate.

She immediately dropped the writhing boy and punted him through the forest. "There. That's better." The kunoichi said with a smirk.

(line break)

As Naruto flew through the woods after being kicked by his enemy, he could only concentrate on one thing: holding back the spirit that was threatening to envelop him now that the Kyuubi was no longer oppressing it.

Naruto crashed into a tree and fell onto a branch. _'Masamune! Come back to me!' _He screamed at his sword and ordered it to return, but it was too late. A sick blackness had already begun to creep up his left arm from where he held his seven foot sword.

The blonde desperately clawed at his arm as the darkness made it way to his shoulder and was threatening to overtake his chest.

"No!"

He felt his arm lengthen and tighten as his muscles began to change shape.

"NO!"

The tips of his fingers began to form into pale, slender digits.

"NOOOOOO!"

(line break)

With the Kyuubi brat out of the way, the grass kunoichi finally had time to play with her new pet Sasuke. And boy did she have some plans for him. She turned to see the two leaf genin had almost regained their mobility. With another concentrated dose of killer intent, they both froze again.

(line break)

Sasuke felt forlorn as he had finally overcome the paralysis just to be forced back into it. Once again, he saw his own death flash before his eyes and it was exactly the same as before; a kunai to his head.

The raven haired boy's worst fear came to life as the grass ninja pulled out two kunai. Without forewarning the woman whipped the metal objects at his and Sakura's faces and, as they flew towards them, Sasuke made a quick decision. In a last ditch effort, he thought maybe pain could snap him out of this trance.

He quickly took his own kunai and dug it into his leg. Sasuke let out a groan of pain, but he had regained mobility. He didn't hesitate to jump to his side and pull Sakura out of harm's way just before the kunai impacted her skull.

"Thank you Sasuke-kun." The pinkette breathlessly spoke.

"Sakura. Let me handle this." He didn't give her time to respond as she motioned to rebut.

"Very good Sasuke-kun! I'm so glad you survived that!" The dark haired woman that attempted to kill them said.

"You're going to regret this." The Uchiha activated his sharingan and plowed forward to battle the killer kunoichi. Although, she didn't seem to be frightened at all from his threats, he was going to have revenge for Naruto. No one hurts Sasuke's teammates and gets away with it.

At every turn he impressed the grass ninja. She continually complimented him, but let him know his efforts were wasted by showing him she was uninjured. No matter how many times he hit her she wouldn't even have a red mark where his fist connected. No matter how many kunai he threw at her she always came out of it without a scratch. After a countless number of tries he finally had her cornered.

He wrapped ninja wire around his hands and made a mad dash around the kunoichi. With a flick of his wrist, she was bound to the tree in front of him and he charged up the most powerful fire jutsu in his arsenal. He blew out as hard as he could and the flame shot down the wire until it connected with the woman on the other end leaving a charred body and a small forest fire.

As the flames licked at the corpse of Sasuke's enemy he smirked at his accomplishment.

"Yes Sasuke-kun! I'm so glad you showed me your progress." The Uchiha heard an excited raspy voice coming from the flames, but this time it was much deeper and sounded like a man.

The black haired boy readied another kunai. "Who are you?" He asked in anger as he was still annoyed by his failed attacks.

The flames began to die down and the wire Sasuke used made a 'twing' sound as it snapped off of the enemy ninja. The kunoichi emerged to show most of her face had melted off. "My name is…" She pulled the sagging skin off of her body and tossed it to the side. "… Orochimaru."

A man with long black hair and deathly pale skin stood where the kunoichi once was.

"The sannin?" Sakura yelped in fear.

"So you've heard of me?" Orochimaru chuckled. "Good, because then I don't have to waste much time."

Orochimaru appeared directly in front of Sasuke and shoved a fist into his stomach. The black haired boy retched in pain and fell to his knees in front of the destructive ninja, allowing no small amount of vomit to hit his shoes.

Sakura attempted to attack him, but to a sannin her genjutsu was child's play and her speed was like watching paint dry. It took him longer than he thought, but Orochimaru eventually kicked her into a tree and returned to his place in front of the heaving Uchiha. For a genin she did put up quite a fight though.

Orochimaru stared down at his latest victim. "I have a small gift for you Sasuke-kun." The snake man reached down and fisted Sasuke's hair in his hand before forcibly lifting the boy to his knees and exposing his neck. He smirked at his victory. He couldn't wait to have this body as his own. Two fangs extended in his mouth in preparation to deliver a curse mark to the neck of the unwilling Uchiha.

The only thing that may have warned Orochimaru that he was in danger would have been a small shadow approaching from above him. Just a faint shift in the light. Unfortunately for him, he was too caught up in his victory over Sasuke to notice.

The snake was about to lean forward to deliver the bite when he felt the sword pierce his chest.

(line break)

The black haired boy was staring down at the feet of the man holding his head in place when he saw a blood covered Masamune shove into the bark right in front of him with such force that the branch they were on shook.

_'That's Naruto sword!'_

A low chuckle made Sasuke's eyes go wide. He knew that laugh and it certainly wasn't Naruto's. It was the man he feared far more than the sannin that was attempting to violate him.

Sasuke turned his head up and looked into the green cat slit eyes of the pale skinned monster he met on the bridge in wave country. He had kept his word. He was back. And now he was going to finish what he started.

The man leaned forward and whispered into Orochimaru's ear. "Go to the promised land." He smirked as he put his black leather boot into the back of the sannin and slowly pushed him off of the end of his blade.

Orochimaru's hand went slack and Sasuke felt the snake man's lifeless body fall to the side.

A quick glance to the side showed Sakura whimpering in fear and trying to recover from the blow Orochimaru had delivered upon her.

The silver haired man lifted his hands into the air. "And I, Sephiroth, son of Jenova, will be the shepard that guides you there!" He lowered his hands as he saw Orochimaru shed his skin and fall to the branch below them.

The sannin was panting slightly, but stood to show the injury in his chest was gone. "I grow tired of you people and your magics." The pale man spoke with disdain.

Sasuke sighed in relief as the man named Sephiroth turned away from him and hopped down to the same branch as Orochimaru.

The two super-powered men stared each other down in silence. Sasuke didn't know who to root for in the fight that seemed inevitable. It was like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. But now was not the time to gawk.

The Uchiha quickly jumped over to Sakura and helped her up. "We have to go."

"What about Naruto?" She screamed as fresh tears formed into her eyes and she clutched onto Sasuke's shoulder to get him to stay.

He looked over at the two men staring each other down on the branch beside them. "He isn't Naruto anymore."

Sakura pulled him down. "No! You're lying! He told me it would never happen again!" She cried into his arm.

Sasuke pushed her back. They didn't have time for this.

SLAP!

He gave her a strong smack on the face. "Crying will not help him. If we stay here, we are going to die! Do you think that is what Naruto would want? Do you think he would want to be the one who kills you while he's taken over by that _thing_?" He pointed a finger towards the pale skinned man they hadn't seen since the mission in Wave country.

Why do people keep hitting her? First Kankuro and now her own teammate. She placed a hand over the warm spot on her face where Sasuke had slapped some sense into. "No." She said sadly.

"Of course not." He bent over and gently lifted her in a way of apology. "We can't help him right now, but if we don't escape while we have the opportunity we won't have a chance to help him later." He softened his tone. "and I want to save him too you know."

Sakura looked into Sasuke's hopeful black eyes. He was right. At the moment there was nothing they could do. It seemed like whoever won the fight was going to kill them anyways so they should take this time to run. They are involved in something that is over their heads at the moment and they need to get some help.

She nodded to her raven haired teammate. "You're right. We have to…"

Sakura was interrupted as the body of the sannin plowed into the branch next to them. The first thing she noticed was that he was covered in blood and really pissed off. The second thing she noticed was that both of his arms had been completely severed from his body.

(line break)

Orochimaru stared into the eyes of the silver haired man that had just snuck up and impaled him. They were an odd shade of green and the fact that they were cat slit unnerved him for some reason. He quickly pulled the kusanagi sword out of his mouth and prepared for any sudden attacks.

It wasn't like he had never been in the presence of strong shinobi before, but this man didn't carry the air of a normal ninja. He wasn't happy or sad; he just seemed indifferent to everything. As if Orochimaru meant no more to him than an insect or even the ground upon which it sat. The snake man found he kind of liked this man in that respect. Still, he interrupted him when he was about to take Sasuke and that was something he could not forgive him for.

"So your name is Sephiroth? Please allow me to introduce myself." He took a low bow. "I am…"

"Orochimaru." The silver haired man spoke.

"Well. You seem to know so much about me." The snake said with a smirk.

"I should thank you. If it wasn't for you containing that fox for me I may never have broken out of that seal and taken over the boy." The large black wing fluttered behind his back.

The snake observed the same large wing on his back that he saw on Naruto and put the pieces together. "So you did something to Naruto-kun?" He put a finger to his chin and adorned a creepy smile. "You have devoured him." Orochimaru licked his lips as he was almost beginning to feel a familiarity with him.

Sephiroth knew what the snake was thinking. He thought they were the same. It disgusted him to ever consider that possibility. "We are one. And now he and I will take back this planet together."

"If you have other plans then we don't have to fight. Just let me get back to the boy over there and I will depart." He pointed a thumb towards the Uchiha as he realized this has already dragged on for too long. He honestly just wants to give Sasuke the curse mark so he could leave.

"You smell of snakes and children." Sephiroth ignored Orochimaru's suggestion and prepared his sword by holding over his head with his left hand.

"So are you going to lecture me on my personal habits now?" The pedophile tightened his grip around the hilt of the kusanagi sword. His sick activities with children were none of this man's business.

"I do not care what you do to the traitors."

Orochimaru smiled. "Good. So we can both continue on our own way then."

"But because of your refusal to die, you have devoured the souls of many people who otherwise would return to this planet. I'm afraid I must rip those souls out of your body in order to achieve my goals."

Orochimaru wondered how this man could possibly know about his habit of taking over the bodies of others every three years when his became unusable. There were very few who knew of his immortality jutsu so it didn't really make sense that this man had figured out one of the intricacies of it without prior information. Unfortunately, he wasn't given any time to question as Sephiroth charged him.

The silver haired man's speed was insane. Even for a sannin he was having trouble keeping up with him and every time their blades connected he felt like he was being hit by a truck. He wondered if the kusanagi could take any more punishment before it snapped in half.

Wherever this man was from, he was well trained. Orochimaru figured it was military grade, because he was not as much a ninja as a _soldier_. Obviously, he must have been a part of some type of specialized unit. Possibly an assault team? But the way he silently glided around the forest hinted that he could have been part of a covert ops/espionage unit. He was so soundless that if the snake ever took his eyes off of him he risked losing Sephiroth's location permanently.

Orochimaru did have one ace up his sleeve. This man was not a ninja and didn't seem to know any jutsu. Sure, he was a monster of speed and power, but not once did he show any hint of knowledge about the ninja arts. Unfortunately for the snake, he wasn't given any time to use jutsu. If he blocked one attack it was like four more took its place.

Finally, Orochimaru was given a moment's reprieve when he was blasted back by a particularly hard swing. They were at least fifty feet from each other so he had plenty of room to summon some help. He cut into his hand and lifted his arm into the air; double checking to make sure the enemy was still a good distance away.

"Why are you backing away?" Sephiroth's deep voice was condescending as he put Orochimaru down for his cowardice. "If you want to kill your enemy. You should come closer."

The silver haired man was a fair distance off, looking all too calm. Orochimaru scoffed at his arrogance and prepared to slam his hand down. _'How dare he patronize me!'_ A small gust of wind passed over him just before the snake pushed his hand downwards, but instead of just his palm pressing into the branch at his feet, he watched as his whole arm splattered and rolled off in front of him. Orochimaru cringed slightly from the sudden pain of losing his limb.

The pedophile turned his snake slit eyes to lock with the foreboding presence he felt next to him. Over his shoulder, Sephiroth looked down on him with his ever present face of indifference. "Did you think it mattered how far you ran from me?"

The snake sannin jumped away as he clutched the bleeding nub where his arm once was. He didn't even feel the cut and he certainly didn't see Sephiroth move. One moment he was fifty feet away and the next he was only five.

The silver haired man turned to show his gleaming blade had not one bit of blood on it. "Iai strike." He swung the Masamune and crescent arcs of light shot towards Orochimaru at blinding speeds.

'_So that's how he hit me from so far away. His sword can shoot projectiles.'_ The snake dodged the first wave of strikes and prepared to counter with a quick summoning. He swallowed the kusanagi sword as he dodged another round of projectiles and slammed his blood covered hand towards the ground in a frenzy. If he didn't think of something fast he may actually lose this battle.

Just before his hand hit the ground for the summoning, Orochimaru felt a pressure on his wrist and he knew that Sephiroth had him in his clutches. The snake glanced down at the hand grasping his forearm and then up into the cold eyes of the winged man. He felt a bit of glee at how exciting the battle had become. The pale pedophile almost couldn't wait to see what the silver haired marauder was going to do to him next.

Sephiroth yanked the snake man's arm out straight and slowly let Masamune fall down over it.

Orochimaru screeched in pain as he felt the blade leisurely cut through his skin, then his muscle tissue, then his bone, and finally back out the other side. As a consolation prize for his performance, the snake man received a powerful kick to the stomach, which sent him careening towards the two genin.

He hit the branch next to them with a resounding thud and worked himself out of his daze to see the pink haired girl staring at him with wide eyes. Next to her was the raven haired object of Orochimaru's most recent affections. It seemed like fate that the boy was still around for the taking. "Sasuke-kun. Thank you for staying." He said with a perverted smile even though he was basically just a torso.

Before the genin could react, the sannin's neck expanded and he clamped his fangs down over Sasuke's neck.

(line break)

Sephiroth has had enough of this man. What is the point of torturing someone if they enjoy it? If he liked physical pain so much then the winged man would need to take a different approach to torment him. _'Maybe killing his precious vessel in front of him will make him squirm before I slay him as well.'_

Sephiroth watched as the pitiful snake bit down on the neck of the teenage boy in front of him. He didn't really care what happened to these people anyway, he was just going to kill them in the end.

Just before he was going to slaughter all three of the ninja, he felt a pressure well up in his chest. He clutched at his heart as it quickly became an unbearable pain that shot throughout his body.

Naruto was finally fighting back. When he saw his friend in pain the boy must have found the will to push himself out and take back his body. "No. This body is mine!" Sephiroth yelled as he hit the floor. He couldn't let the boy win now or he might never get out again so he pushed Naruto back as hard as he could.

'_I will protect them!'_ Sephiroth could hear the boy scream in his head.

"You're not strong enough!" The silver haired man retorted.

"I will protect them... even if it's from myself!" Naruto screamed through his own mouth as the blackness began to descend back into the hilt of the Masamune and the boy retook his body. The jinchuuriki fell to all fours and huffed ragged breaths as the remainder of his body began to slowly return to its normal color and size.

While Masamune dwindled back into its hilt, a new hilt appeared in Naruto's right hand. _'__Naruto__._' Gilgamesh spoke up for the first time in days.

The blonde winced as Sephiroth continued to chip away at his will. The silver haired man was fighting back with all of his might to regain control. "Gilgamesh?"

'_You have earned the next sword. The weapon used by those who are brave enough to protect what is important to them. Not many men truly wish to protect others more than themselves no matter the circumstance.'_

"Thanks but…" Naruto lurched forward as he struggled to have power over Sephiroth. "Now is really not the time."

'_I will contain him for now. Go and use this sword to protect your friends.'_

Naruto suddenly felt the oppressing weight of Sephiroth's advances lift from his shoulders. Without the clouding influence of the silver haired man, he could clearly hear the courageous voice coming from the new hilt in his hand.

'_If you want to be a hero, you need to have dreams, and honor.'_

A wave of new power washed over Naruto as he narrowed his eyes onto his enemy.

"Buster sword."

(line break)

Sakura froze when she saw Orochimaru's teeth sink into Sasuke's neck. "Sasuke-kun!" She broke out of her paralysis to swing a kunai down at the elongated neck draped in front of her. The point of the metal object dug into its target and the snake cringed in pain as blood spurted from the wound.

Orochimaru retracted his teeth and pulled his head back to his armless body. The pinkette turned to look at the sannin when she heard a gurgling coming from his direction. Sakura watched in horror as a hand protruded from the mouth of the snake man and a fully recuperated Orochimaru slithered out of the orifice. Both of his limbs were regenerated and any other cuts he had were gone, but he was noticeably winded.

"You kids have been such a pain for me." Orochimaru tiredly said as he began to limp down his branch toward Sakura. He quickly glanced around to make sure Sephiroth wasn't there. "I'll just kill you. It would be good for Sasuke-kun's growth if you were gone." His mouth opened up and he pulled out his kusanagi sword.

The pinkette moved in front of an unconscious Sasuke and held her kunai in front of her, but she knew that she was going to die if Orochimaru got any closer. She had to come up with a plan quick. Obviously her genjutsu doesn't work on him. It did't even faze him at all last time so she needed a different strategy.

Sakura observed his slow movements. '_He's tired!_' Maybe if she took Sasuke and ran she could get away. Probably not, but it was worth a shot. She prepared to throw the kunai as a distraction while she picked up Sasuke. _'Alright. You can do this Sakura.'_ She reassured herself.

Orochimaru was beginning to close in on her so if she didn't act now she wouldn't have another chance. She pulled her arm back to throw the kunai, but before she leaned forward to deliver the distraction a shadow over her head caught her attention. '_Naruto_!'

(line break)

Orochimaru quickly turned his head up when he saw Sakura looking above him to see a four and a half foot great sword above his head preparing for a downward strike.

"Braver!" Naruto yelled as the end of the blade began to shine.

The snake thrusted his sword up with both hands to block the attack as Naruto came crashing down at physics defying speeds.

As soon as the blade hit Orochimaru's sword, the branch under the snake man's feet burst into debris from the pressure. Naruto's sword never let up strength or speed as it forced them through every branch on the way towards the ground. The sannin was slightly blown away when they impacted with the earth and a small dust storm was kicked up.

"These children are such nuisances." Orochimaru gathered himself up and stumbled to his feet. The fight with Sephiroth had taken a lot out of him and shedding his skin to repair his wounds cost him a large chunk of chakra each time he did it. It baffled him that he was beginning to wear down because of mere children.

The snake began to search out the genin when he heard a voice cut through the dust. "Braver!" Orochimaru looked up to see Naruto was above him again, ready to deliver another punishing helm splitter. _'Damn that child is quiet!'_

The boy crashed down into the snake and blasted him across the clearing into a tree. As Orochimaru roughly impacted with the Oak, he knocked off a chunk of bark from the blunt force he exerted on it.

The snake laboriously pulled himself up again and brushed off some of the dust that covered his bloodied body. He couldn't let this fight drag on any longer. It was either flee or kill them now. But that blonde kid was causing him so much trouble. If Orochimaru just kept his distance then maybe he could beat him quickly and leave. He just had to stay away from those swords.

The sannin locked eyes with the boy and laughed. "I don't know why you won't just die." He said as he prepared a long range fire jutsu.

Naruto growled. "I won't let you hurt them!"

The boy lifted his new sword above his head as it began to shine. "Blade beam!" He swung it as hard as he could into the dirt and a bright blue light tore through the ground in Orochimaru's direction.

The snake paused his jutsu and tried to jump, but it was too late. The blue light exploded into him and sent his near lifeless body flying out of the area until he skidded to a stop along the dusty earth.

"Damn." Orochimaru said as he wiped blood off of the corner of his mouth. He looked down the path of destruction the blast left to see Naruto preparing for another attack; his sword glowed the telltale blue color that it seemed to gain before he would unleash an assault. "I guess I will let them live for now." He said to himself to make him feel better about losing this round. "I accomplished what I came for anyways." He chuckled as he eyed the unconscious Uchiha.

(line break)

Orochimaru sunk into a tree and made a quiet escape as Naruto watched him with baleful eyes. Once he was sure the snake didn't intend to return he lowered his latest sword and tiredly fell to his butt.

He laid the hilt of the four and a half foot sword up against his shoulder and inspected thoroughly it for the first time. It was quite intimidating in its appearance. Like the other swords he had already gained, it was very large. It was mainly black all the way down to the sharp pointed end except the bladed edge was a bright silver color and there seemed to be two inconsequential holes at the base of its one foot width.

'_You seem to have a natural talent for the Buster Sword.'_ Gilgamesh said. The spirit was impressed that Naruto could use the special techniques of the sword so quickly after gaining it.

'_You think so? I was just making it up as I went along hehe.'_ Naruto said to acknowledge the spirit.

'_You have already unlocked two of the swords main powers; the braver and the blade beam.'_

'_Yeah. I kind of just felt those things out though. It wasn't really on purpose or anything.'_

'_Those 'things' you used are called limit breaks, and there are many more for you to learn before you master the Buster Sword.'_

'_Limit breaks? Sounds cool!'_

'_Yes. Cool.'_ Gilgamesh said in a monotone voice.

The blonde boy was quiet for a moment as he thought about what he wanted to say next. _'Thanks again.'_ Naruto said awkwardly. _'For helping me with the other spirit.'_

'_No thanks are necessary.'_

'_Yeah yeah I know but, you said before you would only be a guide._' If Naruto could have given Gilgamesh a low bow he would have. _'You actually went out of your way to help me and I really appreciate it. Without you I don't know if I could have saved my friends in time.'_

Gilgamesh stayed silent. He was running the risk of becoming too close to Naruto again. He didn't want to admit it, but he had helped Naruto because he wanted to, not because he had a duty to protect him from the other spirit. If he wasn't careful he might accidentally affect Naruto in a way he never intended and it could have disastrous side effects.

'_Your friend is worried about you. You should return to her._' Gilgamesh said quietly.

Naruto smiled as he heard Sakura's voice faintly calling to him. _'Alright, but don't wait until the next time I get a sword to talk to me. It would be nice to hear from you more often.'_ He said happily.

'_Very well.'_ Gilgamesh complied far more meekly than normal.

Naruto let out a sigh. His inner spirit still hadn't opened up to him yet, but he could feel them getting closer. Gilgamesh's actions proved to Naruto that he at least cared a little bit about him. Sooner or later, they would become friends. The jinchuuriki knew it.

'_See ya later!'_ Naruto said happily.

Once he was sure Naruto was gone, Gilgamesh prepared himself for his own fight. After all, the spirit of the Masamune was highly uncooperative to say the least and Sephiroth had no intention of being locked up again.

(line break)

Naruto left his trance and looked up to see two glistening emerald eyes peering down at him. "Oh Naruto!" Sakura dove forward and wrapped her arms around him.

The blonde wheezed as she crushed his chest with her powerful embrace. "Sakura-chan." He said as he strained to lift his arms for a return hug, but couldn't. His body had become too weak after all the fighting. He was trying his hardest just to stay conscious for her.

"I'm so happy you're back!" She cried into his shoulder.

"S…Sasuke." Naruto breathed out. He wanted to know the fate of his friend.

The pinkette loosened her grip when she heard Naruto's hoarse breathing. "Sasuke-kun is alive, but unconscious." She said in a frightened voice. "Orochimaru did something to him and now I don't know what to do. I need you're help!" She pleaded.

Naruto looked into her eyes as the corners of his vision began to fade into blackness. It seemed his body had reached its limit. "I'm… so sorry Sakura-chan." He said as his eyes closed and he left Sakura alone as the only cognizant member of team seven.

"Naruto." She shook him. "Naruto! Wake up! I need you here with me!" She stared down at her comatose teammate in worry. The only person to ever make her feel safe was now lying helplessly in front of her.

Sakura raked a hand through her hair. This was all wrong! How was she supposed to help them when she could barely help herself? Why did a fucking sannin come after them? How are they still alive?

She choked on her last thought.

Wait. They're still alive. They're still alive because Naruto and Sasuke protected her as she stood there unable to help. Now it was her turn to protect them as they lay powerless in front of her. The tables have turned and she would prove she had the strength and the courage to defend them in their time of need just like they did for her.

Sakura jumped to her feet and quickly pulled Naruto back into a large opening in the base of the tree next to them. She then jumped to the branch with Sasuke and brought him down to lay next to Naruto.

As soon as she laid the Uchiha next to the blonde, Naruto's large black wing draped over them both like a protective blanket. The medic moved the wing to treat their wounds, but when she turned around the feathery appendage was again covering them both. Sakura smiled at her teammate. "Even asleep you try to protect us." She said as she slowly ran her palm down his smooth cheek.

(line break)

Sakura wiped the sweat off of her brow before taking a big drink out of her canteen. After a few hours of preparation, all the traps she had set up to defend against would be attackers were finally up and running. If anyone took a single step within twenty meters of their base they would get a face full of shuriken or an entire tree trunk swinging into them.

She sat back against the hollowed out inside of the tree and looked down at her two teammates sleeping peacefully. They both looked so calm and even a little happy.

Sakura noticed that whenever she removed Naruto's wing from across Sasuke's torso to check his injuries, the black haired boy would begin to shiver and groan violently in pain until the wing lay across him again. Once the feathers touched his skin, Sasuke would settle down and drift off into a peaceful sleep. It was pretty odd that the rookie of the year found such comfort in the touch of the dead last.

Sakura moved over to their side to get a better look at them. They were so gorgeous. If this were any other time, her perverted side might've taken over and she may have laid a kiss upon their lips just like in her dreams. And like a reverse sleeping beauty she thought maybe the kiss of the princess could awaken the prince, but now was not the time. She had to remain vigilant.

Still, she found herself looking down at their sleeping figures. Naruto's low, breathy pants and soft lips were so inviting. Why shouldn't she give him a little kiss? He may be sleeping, but it's only wrong if the person didn't want it and she knew Naruto did. This could be her chance to find out what its like without him thinking about it too much or looking into the small touching of their lips as anything more than just that. This way, she could sate these odd new urges she has been having for him without causing any controversy between her and Sasuke, whom she still wanted to marry in the future.

It didn't even bother her that she had already forgotten about stealing a kiss from Sasuke as she leaned over Naruto's side and brought her face inches away from his. Her long pink strands fell around them and acted as a curtain for their private moment by cutting out the light.

"Why do you like me?" She asked the sleeping blonde as his warm breath batted gently across her lips.

"I've never been nice to you." Her fingers tingled as she ran them down the edge of his jaw.

"I'd even go as far to say I've been downright offended by your presence in the past."

"But no matter what I do you never leave me. How can I be worth it? What about me makes you look at me like you do?" Wet spots formed on Naruto's cheek where her tears began to fall.

She thought about their recent time together and why it was she felt the way she did. It was the way he looked at her. Every time she locked eyes with his glowing blues, whether it was deliberate or accidental, she felt like she was falling towards him. Almost like the world was pulling at her to close the distance between their bodies. It would start as a kind of a small pressure in her chest and the longer their eyes met the more it would build up. She didn't know what would happen if she didn't turn away, but she didn't want to find out.

It wasn't a feeling of love, but longing. She lusted after Naruto like never before and it infuriated her to no end. Why did she want him? Was it his new body? Would she have liked him just as much if she had just taken the time to get to know him earlier?

She had been in love with Sasuke almost since she can remember. Now these feelings of lust have been crowding her thoughts and they were no longer of the Uchiha. Instead they were of her other teammate. But for now they were just that. Thoughts of lust.

Or were they?

Did Sasuke ever look at her like that? Like he wanted her? Or even needed her? Not that she can remember. Well, there was one time after genin team selections he had complimented her forehead. He was so sweet that day in the park. But not once before or after that has he acted the same. It was kind of a fishy situation overall, but she was too lost in the moment to think it couldn't have been Sasuke. That it was really Naruto in a henge and that the black haired boy would never say those things.

Sakura knew why she liked Sasuke. He was smart, talented, rich, beautiful, and cool. It was a no brainer that he was a great choice for a future husband. When she thought about the Uchiha she envisioned security. He was safe.

Naruto, on the other hand, was not safe. He didn't come from a prestigious family and she had no idea who the Uzumakis were. He was a hot headed commoner like she was. There was no guarantee that she would be happy with him. But as she spent more time with the blonde, she found herself caring less and less about the repercussions.

She gently caressed his nose with her own. "You know… I was so scared when I thought you left me today." The pinkette said with a small smile. "For a little bit... I thought you were never coming back… and it hurt." She sniffled.

"But like always, you came back and saved me... and now that I look back at it I can't believe I ever doubted you."

Sakura choked as her top lip softly rubbed up against his. Her heart pounded loudly in her ears as she prepared to dip her chin down to claim the last bit of space separating their mouths, but found she could not. It felt wrong to steal this moment.

The pink haired genin backed away when she heard a noise outside the opening of the tree. "Now it's my turn to save you." She said as she cast a final glance at her sleeping teammates and proceeded to investigate the sound.

Sakura didn't know the danger of the situation she was about to walk into.

**Chappy five!**

**So the Buster Sword is new. If you have ever played Final Fantasy Seven you will notice that it is exactly the same as Cloud's initial sword. Google Buster sword and I guarantee that a picture of the blade will pop up.**

**The Braver and Blade Beam attacks Naruto used are also from FF7. They are two of the limit breaks Cloud has in the game. You could Google these two things as well and actually see videos of Cloud doing them. It would be a great visual aid if you wanted it.**

**If you want a visual on what Naruto is wearing look up Cloud's outfit from Kingdom Hearts 1. Its basically the same cape except it covers a lot more. In fact, Naruto looks very similar to the KH1 version of Cloud overall.**

**I wasn't overly confident in this chapter when I reread it. Oh well, tell me what you thought.**

**If you would like to review I would love to read it!**


	6. Kiba's gonna be pissed!

**Don't own anything.**

**I'm sorry I haven't been able to p.m. any of you back after the last chapter. I've been really busy with work and applying to med schools so I haven't had the time. I had this chapter already written so I decided to just release it since it has been a while.**

**I still greatly appreciate the reviews!**

**Please enjoy chapter six.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

In one swing Sakura used the kunai in her hand to cut her hair and stab the leg of the female sound ninja who had a hold on her. The sound kunoichi identified as Kin groaned in pain as the kunai dug into the flesh of her quadriceps.

Sakura barrel rolled to her left as scraps of her pink hair fell off of her shoulders. She looked around at all of her activated traps and smirked in glee as they had done their job.

The bandaged covered ninja known as Dosu had activated her trap and received three shuriken in his leg as a reward. Currently, he was lying back against a tree and out of the fight as he removed the shards of metal from his leg. The masked ninja couldn't believe he fell for such a stupid trap. He had always been known as the careful one of the group. Zaku was supposed to be the idiot that rushed in, but this time he had only himself to blame for his injury.

His initial plan was to send a small squirrel with an exploding tag into team seven's camp to kill them, but when Sakura came out of the base she saw the squirrel and used a small, sign-less genjutsu to send it away.

She hadn't known it had a bomb attached to its back when she chased the furry critter off, but she didn't think throwing a kunai at it was necessary when she could just make it think there was an impassable wall in front of it with a very simple genjutsu. The animal loving pinkette didn't want to scare the little guy for no reason, but she also couldn't let it trip any of her traps.

The sound ninja thought the squirrel was just an unreliable animal when it didn't complete its mission, not that Sakura sent it away from the camp with genjutsu. So Dosu brazenly walked into a fist full of surprise shuriken and now had to tend to his wounds while his teammates did all the work.

The rest of the sound team didn't believe they really needed his help anyways as they were already above the level of average genin. Kin quickly overpowered Sakura and taunted her for being a terrible kunoichi. She pulled at the pink strands of Sakura's long hair and, for underestimating her enemy; Kin received a kunai to the leg.

The dark haired sound kunoichi threw the pink hair in her hand off to the side as she hit the ground.

"You bitch." Kin screamed as she pulled the kunai out of her leg with a cringe.

"That's what you get dumbass." The only uninjured member of the sound team said.

"Fuck you Zaku!" The kunoichi fumed as she threw the kunai to the side. "Just kill her and let's forget about this whole embarrassing mission."

"Don't be mad she got you. It's your own stupid fault." Zaku said to Kin as he lifted his arm and pointed it at Sakura. "DECAPITATING AIRWAVES!"

A blast of wind shot at the pinkette. She tried to dodge it, but received most of the attack regardless of her efforts. It blew her into a tree and scraped her up pretty badly. In addition the attack seemed to pull the air from her lungs, leaving her out of breath and helpless.

The air bending ninja walked over to her to finish the job. "See ya later." He said as he raised his palm towards Sakura.

He blasted off another round of concentrated air at the pinkette and Zaku smiled as he watched the wave shred the skin from her bones. Painfully ending people's lives was one of the small things in life he had learned to enjoy since he started working under Orochimaru. It helped that insanity was rewarded by the boss.

His sadistic nature and lust for blood left him open to errors. He should've realized that just because he saw Sakura die doesn't mean it actually happened.

"Zaku! Why are you just standing there?" Dosu yelled. "She's right behind you!"

The air shooting ninja turned to find a kunai securely pressed to his neck. It was too late that he realized her 'death' was really just a genjutsu that he fell for hook, line, and sinker.

"Damn." He cursed under his breath.

"Why are you trying to kill us?" Sakura sent a glare at Zaku to show she would not hesitate to kill him if he didn't answer.

"Orders babe. Gotta do it. Plus, I kinda just enjoy killing." He smirked.

"Who's orders?"

He chuckled. "Who could it be hmm?

Sakura cut into his neck slightly. "Tell me!"

The pinkette heard a slight jingle of bells and glared at Kin, but didn't think much of it. "I suppose there is no harm in telling you Orochimaru-sama wants you dead."

Sakura paled. That sannin was persistent to say the least. She only thanked Kami that instead of coming back to kill them himself, he sent some genin to do it. At least this way she stood a chance.

Sakura stiffened up. "Alright. This is what we are going to do. You will take your friends and leave. In return, I won't have to kill you. Also, leave whatever scroll you have with us."

Zaku laughed. "You see… that will be a problem. Our lord REALLY doesn't like failed missions. I would probably be tortured to death if I didn't kill you so I'll go with option two." The sound genin said with a smile as his body faded out of existence.

Sakura cursed. '_Shit! A genjutsu!_' She quickly realized the bell she heard earlier was an auditory genjutsu that affected her eyesight. She put her hands together and forced her chakra through her system to release the illusion. When she did she found a wave of wind directly in her face.

The blast sent her careening into a tree and this time there was no escape for her. She could only wait for the final blow as she clung to the last bit of consciousness she had left. '_I'm so sorry guys. I couldn't protect you._' Sakura said to herself.

The sound ninja casually walked up to the downed pinkette with an insane smirk on his face. "Time to say goodnight!" He said with the thought that he was finishing her with a quirky one liner. He had been working on a couple of lines and he was happy to finally test one out.

Zaku was about to lift his hand to finish the job when a fist slammed into his jaw and pushed him back. "What the fuck!" He yelled as he rubbed his reddened cheek.

Kin and Dosu both stood up with bandages around their legs and ready for a fight. "It's the target." Kin said as she eyed the reason they attacked team seven in the first place.

Sakura looked at her savior. "Sasuke-kun?"

The black haired boy stood deathly still as she took in his appearance. He was no worse for wear, but across his once pale skin were black marks that covered most of his visible body. "Sakura. Are you alright?" He asked her with a low gravely voice.

She nodded to him, but winced in pain as she held her side.

Sasuke saw her flinch and grew angry. "Which one of you did this? Was it you?" He said staring down at Zaku.

Dosu watched Sasuke as Zaku laughed in his face. He hadn't notice right away that the Uchiha was covered in the curse mark._'That bastard Orochimaru betrayed us! He knew we couldn't beat him!'_ Dosu tried to cut off his air-bending teammate before he took it too far with Sasuke. "Zaku! Stop!"

But it was too late. Zaku had already lifted his hand. "Yeah it was me! And now it's your turn!" He prepared to fire another decapitating airwaves attack, but was cut off as both of his arms were forcibly wrenched behind his back and a foot was shoved into his spine.

"You seem to be attached to these arms." Sasuke said darkly as he twisted the sound ninja's wrists in his hands. "Allow me to free you of them."

Not everyone knew this, but skin does make a distinguishable sound as it is ripped. Sakura had never heard it before, but she was hearing it now for the first time as Sasuke pulled at Zaku's wrists and shoved his foot harder into his spine. The telltale sound began to emanate from the sound ninja's shoulders where the skin was beginning to tear and, if she had to liken the sound to anything, she would say it was a lot like clothes being ripped apart by the seams.

Sakura watched in horror as her first crush attempted to mutilate his enemy. She stumbled to her feet and trudged over to her bloodlust driven teammate. "Sasuke-kun stop!" She wrapped her arms around him and pleaded. "Please stop."

The enraged Uchiha paused his revenge as he felt Sakura's arms go around him. The curse marks that covered his body receded back into the small blight on his neck and he released the sound ninja he had been torturing. He didn't really release Zaku so much as shove him face first into the ground, but at least he didn't kill him.

Without a moments hesitation Dosu rushed to claim his downed teammate. The bandage covered ninja slowly reached into a pack on his back and pulled out his scroll. "In exchange for our lives, I will give you our heaven scroll and our word that we will not attack you any further during this round of the exams." The sound ninja said as he put his scroll on the ground and picked up Zaku. Dosu patiently awaited Sasuke's answer and didn't dare move in fear of being cut down by the curse mark powered ninja.

Sakura was afraid Sasuke wasn't going to let them leave. Given the events it seemed like he was more likely to kill them than let them escape. The pinkette was about to say something until the Uchiha slowly nodded to the team of foreign ninja and they shunshined away as quickly as they could.

Sakura reached forward to grab Sasuke, but he batted her hand away. He was never a touchy-feely kind of guy, but this seemed a little different. "Where is Naruto?"

She hung her head low in sadness and brought him to the base of the tree where their teammate laid.

(Line break)

When Naruto opened his tired eyes the first thing he saw was the green iris of his favorite girl. She was so close to him he could smell the faint amount of peach shampoo that was left in her hair from the last time she showered.

"You're awake!" Sakura moved back as Naruto sat forward.

He reached out and both Sasuke and Sakura moved to help him up. Naruto was happy to see his black haired friend was okay. After their ordeal he wasn't sure if the Uchiha would be all right, but apparently he was in better shape than Naruto was at the moment.

"Thanks guys. I'm glad to see we're all okay." There was an awkward silence between them and Naruto couldn't figure out why.

"So dobe." The black haired boy broke the quiet first. "Care to explain that?" Sasuke said pointing at Naruto's back.

Naruto turned his head to see his long, black wing protruding to his side and he scrambled to get it back under his cloak. "Ah!"

Sakura ignored Naruto's nervous plight and moved the red cloak off of his back to inspect the wing herself. She ran her hand down the bridge until she hit the point in his back where it connected. It shivered when she touched the junction where it grew from his spine.

Naruto sighed. "It's kind of new."

"Yes." Sasuke affirmed. "It's been there since the training you had with Zabuza."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah."

Sakura moved back in front and stood next to Sasuke. "How did you get it?"

Naruto sat down and leaned back against the hollowed out tree they were stationed in. "Zabuza trained me to use God Eater, but he knew I had another sword. I told him I didn't want to use it and he said I didn't have a choice. I refused again, but he came and swung to kill me." Naruto put his head into his hands.

"I couldn't block quick enough. I needed something faster or I was going to die. The only thing I could do was use Masamune."

The cloak around his back moved to the side and his wing draped in front of them. "When I called out Masamune for the first time, this _thing_ came with it." Naruto said sadly as he ran his hand down the spine of his newest appendage.

"What's wrong Naruto?" Sakura asked as she saw how forlorn he was.

He kept his head down and spoke into the collar of his cloak. "You know what's wrong Sakura-chan. This thing proves that I'm becoming just like that monster." He sunk back into his seat.

Naruto heard Sakura sigh. He looked up and saw she was in front of his face with a closed fist and, before he could ask her what she was doing; the pinkette brought a vengeful punch down on his head. "Baka!"

He rubbed the sore spot. "Sakura-chaaaaaan. Why did you hit me?" He whined as he seemingly broke out of his depressed spiral.

"I only hit you when you do something stupid!" She raged. "You know we don't think of you like that so stop saying it!"

Naruto was shocked as he looked into the angry eyes of Sakura and the calm accepting eyes of Sasuke. He lowered his head with a smile. "You guys... thank you."

"Naruto really…" Her voice softened. "I think everyone will be a lot more accepting of this than you think." She said as she placed a hand on his wing. The look she saw in his eyes earlier was so lost and she didn't want him to ever look like that again. "We're not so close minded that this would bother us."

Naruto was happy to hear Sakura say it, but he still believed people wouldn't understand what he was going through. How could they? There was no way anyone could know what it feels like to have something inside you that has proven it can force you to do things you don't want to.

As Sasuke watched the blonde mope he decided to do something he hasn't ever done for anyone before. Sasuke Uchiha... was going to cheer him up. "So Sephiroth is his name."

Naruto winced. "Yeah."

"I don't quite understand his motives."

"I don't get it either. What does he want?" Sakura asked Naruto.

The blonde stood. "It's kind of a long story, but to paraphrase he just wants to kill everyone." Naruto said plainly.

"Well..." Sasuke scoffed. "He's done a very poor job at it. He's already saved us twice I believe." He said with a small smirk.

If Naruto wasn't mistaken, Sasuke was trying to comfort him. "Huh?" Was all he could muster as a response.

Sakura leaned forward and smiled at him as well. "Yeah. What kind of threat is he when he keeps saving us? Not very scary ya know." She giggled even though deep down she was frightened to death of Sephiroth. Now wasn't the time to let Naruto know that. He needed to know he had friends, not that she was scared of what was inside of him.

The blonde boy realized what they were doing for him and his fears quickly vanished. _'They really care about me.'_

Sasuke moved forward and put a hand on his shoulder. "Sakura told me what happened after I fell unconscious. You have the power to beat him."

Sakura moved to his other side and put her hand on his free shoulder. "Yeah. And if you don't, we'll be there to force you back. Okay?" She said with a smile and a closed fist.

Naruto nodded as he swept his wing around the three of them; bringing them into their own, closed off space from the rest of the world and its problems. "I want you both to know, that no matter what happens I will always be there for you. I promise to protect you with my life."

Sakura was touched. She already knew that he would do anything for her, but to hear him say it was very sweet.

Sasuke scoffed. "Like I need your protection dobe." He said with a smirk. Although, with Naruto's wing surrounding him, he felt very secure.

Naruto smirked back at him. "If it wasn't for me you would have been dead more than twice already teme." He prodded.

"Whatever." The Uchiha said in defiance. "Enough of this. We still have to make it to the tower."

The blonde quirked an eyebrow. "Wait. Don't we need another scroll?" Naruto questioned.

Sakura smiled and pulled a hand out from behind her back to the reveal two scrolls they acquired.

"Alright we did it!" Naruto cheered a little too loudly.

The pinkette winced at the volume of his voice and gripped his ear between her fingers before walking towards their destination.

"Ow ow ow ow. Sakura-chan I'm sorry!" He pleaded as she tightened her fingers.

"You should think before you start screaming in my ears baka!" She hissed back at him as she drug him behind her.

"Ahhh your hair looks really nice!" He said in desperation.

She stopped and let go of his ear to run her hands through her recently shortened hair. Sakura had been feeling a little self conscious about the new look so the compliment meant more than it normally would. "Really?" She said with a pink twinge. "You think so?"

"Oh yes!" He stuttered in fear of giving the wrong response as he rubbed his reddened ear. "So pretty!"

Sasuke walked by them. "Alright let's get going you two. You can flirt with each other later."

"W-what?" Sakura sputtered with a red face. "We're not flirting Sasuke-kun!" She said as she followed close behind the black haired boy.

Naruto hung his head and trudged behind them. "I was." He said quietly.

(Line Break)

Making it to the tower from there was easy. With minimal stops and a low amount of fighting they made it there by the morning of the next day. When they opened their scrolls as instructed Iruka poofed into existence and hugged Naruto tightly, congratulating them all for making it to the next round of exams.

Within a day the rest of the teams finished up and made their way into the tower with team seven. Naruto recognized most of them from earlier. Namely his fellow leaf ninja. Kabuto and his team were there. Along with team Lee, Ino, and Hinata respectively.

Of course the sound team had made it as well, but Naruto wasn't really focused on any of them. That creepy sand ninja Gaara had been staring at him for about half an hour and it was beginning to become just plain weird.

"It looks like you have a secret admirer Naruto." Sakura said from over his shoulder as she nearly rested her cheek against his arm.

Naruto tilted his head towards her. "I don't think he's blinked yet, but I'll be damned if I lose this staring contest. Nobody beats Uzumaki Naruto at the game of blink!"

They chuckled together. "Seriously though. What's up with that guy? He looks really mad and I don't think he's stopped staring at you since we got here." She said curiously. "You think he's upset because you didn't let him hurt the villagers?

Naruto turned away from Gaara to talk to Sakura. "Eh. I think he's just a little cranky. It looks like he hasn't slept in a while." He said with a smile as he threw his arms behind his head. "Maybe he just needs a nap or something."

"Don't be stupid Naruto." She scolded. "I think you should avoid that guy just in case."

"I'll see what I can do about that, but I have a feeling he's not going to just let me be." Naruto said as he looked back at the eerily unflinching Gaara. Without taking his eyes off of the red head, he leaned in really close to Sakura like he was going to tell her a secret. "I'm not sure he's breathing." He whispered.

Sakura leaned over to see Gaara's face becoming redder and redder as if he was holding his breath. The two genin laughed with each other until a familiar face poked into their peripheral vision.

"Hey guys!" Ino said as she walked over and gave Naruto a quick kiss on the cheek, earning her a glare from Sakura and a blush from Naruto. "What's so funny?"

They pointed towards Gaara. "Look at him. He looks constipated." Naruto said with a laugh.

Ino looked over to see the sand ninja getting angrier as Naruto laughed at him. "I feel bad for whoever has to fight that guy. He looks pissed!"

Naruto pulled down the collar of his red cloak and smiled at Ino. Her heart fluttered at his carefree grin, but as he was going to say something he was cut off by an announcement telling them to go to the arena located at the center of the tower.

After arriving at the arena and listening to a short speech about how there were too many teams left in the exam, an elimination competition began to dwindle the remaining groups.

The first competitors were Sasuke and another leaf genin named Yoroi. Naruto was amazed at how well his teammate handled his fight. Without a doubt, the blonde knew he couldn't beat Sasuke in taijutsu. He would have to work on that. Also, Naruto would have to remember to question Sasuke about the black marks that appeared all over on his skin as he fought, but that would have to wait because as soon as the fight was over the black haired boy was taken away by Kakashi.

Naruto was not only worried for his teammate, but also sad because his sensei and his friend weren't going to be there to see his match. He really did want to show them what he could do.

When Naruto heard his name called along with Kiba he sighed. He didn't really want to fight a friend at all, but at least the fight wouldn't be as hard as -I don't know- an insane sand ninja. Plus, he already had a plan to take care of Kiba with minimal problems.

Sakura wished him luck and he heard Ino cheer his name as he glided onto the arena. Kiba took his place opposite of him and the proctor shouted for them to start, but instead of jumping at each other they took a moment to say hello.

They weren't enemies after all and Kiba was willing to taunt since he was chosen to fight the dead last of the class instead of someone like Neji or Gaara. He was especially fearful of Gaara, having personally seen him kill three Rain genin in the Forest of Death and, if he had been placed against him, he would have already forfeit his match.

"Yo dobe." Kiba grinned at him.

"Hey prick." Naruto smirked back.

"Interesting change of clothes." The dog boy said as he motioned towards Naruto's new attire.

Naruto frowned and fluffed his cloak. "I couldn't find any orange stuff in my size."

Kiba chuckled. "So how's it going?"

"It's alright, except I have to eliminate some jackass from the exams right now." Naruto grinned at his old academy friend.

"Oh yeah?" Kiba raised his brow in annoyance. "I kinda know how you feel. Akamaru and I gotta pummel this loser we know." He said as he tossed his dog a soldier pill. "Ain't that right boy?"

The puppy yipped and devoured the pill before transforming into an exact look alike of Kiba.

Naruto sighed and made a shadow clone. It was time to enact his plan. This was definitely going to ruffle Kiba's feathers and he just hoped the dog boy would forgive him later. "I'm really sorry I have to do this, but it's really the quickest and easiest way for me."

"Stop being so cocky Naruto. It might just come back to bite you." Kiba said as he bared his fangs.

"Don't hate me for this Kiba. Trust me when I say I don't want to do this just as much as you don't want to see it." Naruto and the clone crossed their hands together. "HENGE!"

A plume of smoke burst into the air and in the place of Naruto and his clone stood two brunette kunoichi. One had wild hair and purple lipstick while the other wore her hair down and looked far less feral. But the unmistakable traits that they both shared were the slit eyes and tattoos of an Inuzuka.

"What are you doing Naruto? Why did you transform into my sister and mom?" Kiba questioned.

"Forget about Naruto." The kunoichi said seductively earning a raised eyebrow from the dog boy. To Kiba's horror they reached into each others jackets and began to moan as they caressed each other. "The clan needs an alpha male Kiba-kun and guess who it's going to be?" They giggled.

"Naruto stop. This is really creeping me out man." Kiba pleaded.

"Oh don't be like that." They said as they unzipped their jackets. "We really need you to produce another heir Kiba-kun. Don't you want to help the clan?" His 'sister' pouted.

"Of course I want to help the clan!" Kiba shook his head in disgust and confusion. "Wait a minute! Come on man!"

The jackets were nearly off and the ample breasts of the Inuzuka women were almost fully exposed.

"AHH! Akamaru look away!" Kiba screamed as he used his hands to cover his face before he saw both of his closest family members naked.

After a few moments of silence Kiba dared to look again, hoping he wouldn't see his kin nude. He was happy to find out his sister and mom were nowhere to be seen.

Unfortunately, Naruto was gone as well. Kiba sniffed the air and spun around to locate the blonde jinchuuriki, but as soon as he did he received a powerful punch to the jaw, which sent him straight to the ground.

The Inuzuka lifted his head in a daze and looked at Naruto. "Dude. So uncool." Kiba sputtered before Naruto came through with a follow up punch and the Inuzuka passed out.

Naruto shook the pain out of his hand and glanced down to see Akamaru licking Kiba's face in worry. "Sorry buddy. I know that was low, but I don't want anyone to know what I can do just yet."

Naruto realized he took the underhanded and dirty route, but when he looked around at the competition, he knew he made the right choice. Any one of these competitors would be a terrible match up for him so the less they knew about his fighting abilities the better. Plus, deception is what ninja do.

Naruto walked toward the edge of the stage and waited for the examiner to check Kiba's unconscious body so that he could be declared the victor.

The blonde boy looked up at Sakura and noted the fury in her eyes. _'Oh man. Sakura-chan's going to kill me for being perverted._' He nervously thought. His fears were confirmed as she cracked her knuckles and then pointed at him. Naruto gulped as she ran her finger across her throat like she was going to execute him.

He quickly glanced over and saw Ino wiping the tears from her eyes as she held her sides laughing. _'Well at least someone liked it.'_

"Winner. Uzumaki Naruto." The sickly looking jonin proctor said just before he broke into a coughing fit and the medics quickly gathered Kiba's unconscious body. One of the medics tried to treat the proctor, but the ill jonin just pushed him away and sighed.

Despite her anger, Sakura clapped for him. Naruto slowly made his way up the stairs toward the pinkette. He was in no hurry for his punishment. Maybe if he could hold her off long enough to explain his reasons she might not beat him to death. Naruto put his palm to his forehead as he realized it didn't matter what he did, he was going to get thrashed.

Almost like a miracle, Sakura's name was called to enter the arena along with Ino. Naruto let loose the breath he was holding as he found out his beating was postponed, at least for a little while.

"Good luck Sakura-chan!" He said as the pinkette walked in the opposite direction down the stairs. She just kept smiling until she was directly next to him. Before Naruto got away she stomped down on his foot and growled a quick 'pervert' making him yelp in pain.

He hit the ground and rubbed his sore foot. _'It could've been worse.'_ He prayed Sakura would forget to punish him more, but chances were she would get him when he least expected it.

Naruto was so concentrated on the pain in his foot he didn't notice the new person standing in front of him until a shadow loomed over his head. He looked up to see pupiless blue eyes smiling down at him. "Hey Ino-chan. Good luck!" Naruto said to his fellow blonde.

The girl ignored him and moved to one knee. "I need some real luck." Ino said as she squatted down and straddled him. Naruto turned his head so she could give him the customary kiss on the cheek, but instead her hands grabbed onto both sides of his face and he was thrusted into a kiss on the lips.

Ino broke the lip lock after a few short seconds, but held his face only inches away from hers as she closed her eyes and smiled in delight. "Yummy." The mind walker said as she wiped Naruto's lip with her finger and released his head.

The boy saw stars as he hit the ground while his curvaceous blonde counterpart sauntered away. He could faintly hear the words 'troublesome women' from Shikamaru across the balcony and if he listened real close he could hear the sound of Sakura growling at Ino from the arena.

He touched a hand to his lips. "Wow."

(line break)

Sakura watched as her rival kissed her most recently self admitted crush on the lips and a fury so strong brewed inside her that it felt like she would burst at any moment. As Ino walked down the stairs with a content and smug look on her face, Sakura was doing all she could to hold back her rage until the match started.

The blonde girl took her place on the other side of the arena and looked Sakura in the eyes as she licked her lips with a smile. Her plan to punk out Sakura worked like a charm. The pink haired girl was furious!

"You may begin!" The proctor shouted to the kunoichi.

"Nice hair." Ino smirked.

Sakura stomped her way over to Ino as her anger hit its peak. "You're dead Piggy!" She screamed.

"Aww. Has something upset you Forehead? Surely it has nothing to do with me kissing my future boyfriend right?" Ino taunted.

Sakura stopped. "That's it! Let's make a deal. Whoever wins this fight gets Naruto!" She said as she threw a fist in front of her.

"I thought you didn't like him." Ino said with a knowing smile.

"Well I changed my fucking mind!" Sakura screamed as she threw a powerful haymaker at Ino's face.

The blonde girl dodged Sakura's wild punches easily, but they were still very fast and dangerous. The mind walker wasn't even given any time to use her clan's jutsus. "Fine." Ino huffed as she dodged another strike. "I accept."

As soon as Sakura heard her agree, the pinkette doubled her efforts to land a hit on the blonde. She kept up her fast assault because she knew that if she gave Ino too much time, the mind walker would be able to use her shinteshin no jutsu and she would force Sakura to quit.

However, attacking so strongly was a double edged sword. The pinkette wasn't able to use any of her genjutsu while she was attempting to pummel her rival. Still, she had to press on no matter what. If she let off for even one second then Ino would definitely use her clan jutsus and the match would be over.

Ino was impressed by the amount of strength Sakura had accrued over such a short time. The last she remembered the only thing the pink haired girl had going for her was her insanely high intelligence. The old Sakura wouldn't have lasted a second during a real taijutsu match with Ino, but this girl is not only holding her own, she was actually pushing the mind walker to her limit.

Ino fought back as best as she could and it seemed the two kunoichi were on even grounds. For every blow Sakura landed it seemed Ino landed her own equally powerful hit. It took quite a while, but eventually they were both gasping for breath and throwing desperate swings.

"I can't lose this Forehead." Ino huffed.

"I can't either Pig. Not when I'm finally beginning to understand him." Sakura wheezed. "There's a lot more to Naruto than you think."

"And after I win this I'm going to take all the time I need to find out about him." Ino smirked.

"It's not that simple."

Ino threw another round of angry punches, one of which hit Sakura in the midsection. The pinkette jumped back and clutched her stomach as she tried to regain her breath. "It is that simple!" She growled. "I like him and that's all that matters! I don't care about what you think!"

Sakura actually smiled at her friends response. Ino may not know everything about Naruto, but it seemed like she wasn't nearly as shallow as she thought she was. "You're right. But..." Sakura smirked. "I'm still winning this."

Ino grinned back and shook her head. "Sorry, but that's not happening."

The kunoichi charged and mercilessly beat each other, worrying much less about defense. In one final and desperate move they spun around and charged up their most powerful punch. In a Rocky type finisher, they connected fists to each others faces and collapsed.

The last thought that went through their minds before they passed out was. _'What the hell does a tie mean?'_

(line break)

Naruto finally worked himself out of the daze Ino left him in after her kiss. He certainly hadn't expected it to happen and it left him more than a little flustered. It was his first kiss after all.

He stood up and turned around to find both Ino and Sakura unconscious on the ground. Naruto scratched his head. _'What the hell? How long was I out?'_

He swooped down as the medics came to collect the two genin.

"Don't worry. They'll be fine. They're just unconscious." The medic said when he saw the look of worry in Naruto's eyes. "Leave them to us. We can take care of them."

Naruto quietly nodded and the medics took the two girls away on stretchers.

The ringing noise to his left indicated the next match was about to begin and the blonde boy saw the next two names appear on the board.

'Hyuga Hinata vs. Hyuga Neji'

Naruto left the stage as to not be in the way for their match. On his way up the stairs he caught the blushed stare of the lavender eyed girl going the opposite way. "Good luck... Hinata-chan." Naruto said to his old classmate. He was still worried that the girl would judge him since she saw what was under his cloak during the written portion of the exams.

"Th...thank you N... Naruto-kun." She stuttered with red face and a smile.

Naruto shrugged off her odd behavior and figured that her weird response was better than a angry one. _'Maybe she didn't mind my wing after all.'_ He thought to himself.

The blonde boy watched the match between the Hyuga with disgust. It started with taunting, then belittling, and even after Naruto offered words of encouragement to Hinata and she made a small comeback, it ended with destruction. The girl was decimated by her cousin all for the sake of destiny.

Naruto had gripped the railing so hard there were dents where his fingers were pressing. The thing that upset Naruto the most was after Neji had beaten Hinata, he went in for the kill. The blonde couldn't believe the Hyuga was about to murder his own family and it seemed like the boy was happy to do it. He would have completed his assassination if an array of Konoha ninja didn't stop him.

Neji looked down at Hinata as the jonin that held him back from killing her began to let go. "Trash." He said quietly to himself as he glared at her near dead corpse.

The pale eyed boy was announced the victor and turned around to walk off the stage, but as he did he ran into something like a brick wall. He looked up into the bright glowing blues of Naruto as he stared down at him.

"You tried to kill her." Naruto growled as his eyes filled with fury.

The lavender eyed boy shook. He didn't hear or see Naruto make his way off of the balcony and onto the stage. "It was her fate. My destiny decreed that I beat her, but apparently it was not to finish her off... yet." Neji said in a superior tone.

Naruto leaned forward and pulled down the collar of his cloak to whisper into Neji's ear. "I hope destiny decrees that we are paired up for the final matches. Because I am going to make you pay for what you did to her."

"If we face each other, you will not win. It is not your destiny to beat me." The stone-faced Neji spoke.

"My entire life has defied destiny. If I would have followed the path that fate had laid out for me I would already be dead." Naruto leaned back to glare down at the Hyuga.

Neji brushed past Naruto. "Everyone is on a set path and you are no different. Just like her." He said as he motioned to Hinata. "But you won't have the luxury she did. The jonin won't jump in to save you when I move in to take your heart."

Naruto watched the retreating form of Neji. "I'm going to free you from fate." He said proudly and loudly as the lesser branch member of the Hyuga walked off stage.

Neji, startled by Naruto's response, stopped for a moment and turned to say something, but instead he just shook his head and continued on his way off the platform.

Naruto could hear talk of 'unyouthfulness' from the side lines and figured Neji was getting off with a slap on the wrist by his sensei. It didn't matter because Naruto would personally see to the Hyuga's punishment.

The blonde walked off the stage again as the next two names popped up on the board.

'Gaara no Sabaku vs. Rock Lee'

Naruto contained his anger for Neji in the interest of learning as much as he could during this match. He had to know how to beat Gaara if it came down to it and hopefully Lee will win.

The match went evenly for a long time. Lee put up an excellent fight for someone who never used a single jutsu and even Naruto had trouble keeping up with most of his moves. It even seemed like the bowl cut kid was going to win for a moment.

Still, it ended with total obliteration. Lee was battered and broken, possibly beyond repair. What was worse was Naruto observed the entire thing and, if he had to face the sand boy right now, he knew he probably wouldn't have won either. _'I need more training.'_ He said to himself.

(line break)

The rest of the matches were less eventful. The sound genin Dosu won his match. Temari beat Tenten. Kankuro won his match even though Naruto had smashed one of his puppets. Shino won his and Shikamaru the same.

The winners lined up to be paired for the final matches. Naruto had such a wide grin when his and Neji's names were matched up that his face almost split in half. Maybe there was something to this fate thing after all since they were paired just like the blonde boy wanted. Naruto was still going to pummel Neji for what he did whether destiny decreed it or not, but now he can watch him squirm at the fact that he was his opponent.

After they were dismissed Naruto instantly made his way to the hospital to visit some people. First was Hinata to make sure she made it out alive. Then Lee to see if there was anything that could be done about his injuries and maybe even Tenten after him. The weapons girl was never mean to him so why not pay her a visit. He guessed he should check on Kiba, but he didn't really hit him that hard so he should be fine. Finally, he would check on Sakura and Ino just to see if they are up yet and to say hello.

The blonde boy blushed when he thought about what Ino did. The kiss felt good. It felt REALLY good and he wondered why she even did it in the first place. They had only just become friends a few weeks before so it's not like she should be that comfortable with him.

It was his first kiss, if it could even be called a kiss that is. It was too short in his opinion, but it's not like he's going to grow the balls to make a move any time soon. In Naruto's mind, he still wasn't sure if she liked him or if what she did didn't really mean anything.

He'd seen couples kiss before, but he had also seen friends and family do the same thing. It didn't feel like the kind of thing a friend or family member would do, but he wanted to be sure before he jumped to any conclusions.

He would think about this more later. For now he had to check up on everyone to make sure they didn't die in his absence.

(line break)

Sakura opened her blurry eyes to find herself in the hospital. "Damn." She said to herself as she thought about what happened during her fight.

Both her and Ino were out of the competition and what's worse is she didn't win the bet with her blonde friend. She didn't lose it either, but that was beside the point.

Now Ino would double her efforts to get Naruto. Sakura knew the blonde would try harder now that the pinkette had allowed her newly formed feelings to come to light.

Sakura wasn't too worried about Ino though. The pinkette knew that she would be spending a lot more time with Naruto since she was on his team so she would have plenty of chances to get him if she wanted.

Which reminded her, she had to help Naruto get over his irrational fear of showing people the wing that grew on his back recently. Of course, he was going to be reluctant to show anyone. Sakura figured there had to be some sort of midway. Maybe someone Naruto could show to let him see that it would be alright if he wore the wing proudly in the open.

She turned her head to the left and saw her sleeping blonde rival. Sakura frowned at the girl, but it seemed she was the only real choice. If Ino was okay with it then everyone else would be too, not that Sakura was concerned. She knew no one would really care that much, its just that Naruto was so worried that he would be shunned again he planned to hide it forever and that seemed like a pain in the ass.

She didn't plan to force him to show everyone. If he really wanted to hide it she would let him, but Sakura wanted to let Naruto know that people do care for him and something like this would never change how they feel.

She did have a selfish motive as well. She thought the new appendage was unbelievably sexy and she wanted to be able to watch him every time they trained together. Her face went a little red when she thought about a glistening, shirtless Naruto overpowering her and holding her down.

She shook the blush off of her face and the thoughts along with it. _'How should we do this?_' She thought to herself as Ino began to stir. _'Maybe just a direct approach? I don't think we really need to sugar coat it for Piggy.'_

"Watcha thinking so hard about Forehead?" Ino was awake and staring at the crease in Sakura's forehead.

Sakura was so lost in thought she barely heard her friend. "Oh hey Ino." She said in a startled voice.

"Good morning sunshine. The Earth says hello." Ino said annoyed. She didn't like being ignored.

"Umm Ino?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah?" Ino answered.

"How much do you like Naruto?"

Ino sat back. It was a pretty odd question to ask especially since she just woke up and was still in a daze from the fight. "Well… He's nice, and funny, and hot." The blonde said as she heard Sakura growl at her.

"So I take it that you like him a lot. Right?" Sakura seethed.

"Yeah. I would say so. I mean, I'd need to get to know him more, but so far he seems… perfect." Ino said with a smile.

"So if there was something special about him, you would be okay with it?"

"He is special Sakura." Ino scolded.

Sakura huffed. "I meant in a more literal sense baka."

"Obviously you are trying to tell me something so just go ahead and say it."

Sakura backed into her pillow. "It's not for me to tell."

"Then why did you bring it up!" Ino yelled.

"I was trying to decide on whether or not to encourage Naruto to tell you or not."

Ino waited a moment for more. "And?" She said as she raised her eyebrows.

"I think it's a good idea so I'll see what he thinks next time I see him. Until then will you promise me not to pressure him to find out what it is I'm talking about? I think it would make him feel slightly betrayed that I even brought it up without his permission."

"Is it really that personal?" Ino asked.

"Yes." Sakura said affirmatively. "Promise me."

"Okay okay." Ino said with her hands up. "I promise."

"Good." The pinkette sighed. "Personally, I think he's worried about nothing but…"

"Yeah. Whatever." Ino said with a wave of her hand. "Just save it. I'll find out if he wants to tell me." She said sadly. Ino hated being left out of the loop. Under most circumstances she would pressure Sakura for the information she wanted, but this concerned Naruto. Trust based relationships couldn't be built out of forced confessions so Ino thought it would be best if she didn't resort to her jutsu. No, this time she would actually wait to be told something instead of actively seeking it out, which was a first for her.

"My jaw hurts." Sakura said, cutting into Ino's thoughts.

Ino rubbed her chin where she felt a large bruise from Sakura's punch. "Mine too."

(line break)

Naruto had just finished checking on Tenten and was walking down the hall to find Ino and Sakura. He wasn't given the chance to talk to Hinata or Lee because of the severity of their conditions, but he at least knew they were alive. He also went to see Kiba and maybe even apologize, but had already checked out. The medics couldn't keep the wild boy there even if they wanted too.

When Naruto went to visit the weapons girl, she had smiled at him from her hospital bed. Tenten couldn't remember him very well, but he didn't blame her. He did look quite a bit different since the last time she saw him in the academy. He was taller, his hair was lighter and longer, and his voice was deeper so it was no surprise she couldn't recognize him until he told her his name (Naruto had failed that year anyway so he was kind of glad she didn't remember him). Also, her mild concussion wasn't helping any.

They only had a short conversation, mostly about her match. She sadly noted that her other teammate Neji never came to check on her and she inquired about Lee's condition. Naruto told her as gently as he could that it didn't seem likely that Lee would ever be a ninja again. His injuries were too severe.

The girl had cried into his shoulder for a few minutes while Naruto stroked her back and gave her every comforting word he could think of. It seemed like he was a natural at calming people down. It must be the deepness of voice or something because the more he talked, the less Tenten sobbed until, after a short while, she had stopped completely.

By the time Naruto left, the girl had already offered a smile and a not so hidden blush.

Naruto turned the handle and walked into the room he was told held the two kunoichi he was looking for to find them chatting away. Sakura and Ino were sitting up and talking animatedly about one thing or another, giggling all the way.

"Hey guys! How're you feeling?" Naruto said happily.

They turned to him. "I'm great Naruto-kun!" Ino piped up first.

'_So it's Naruto-kun now huh?'_ Sakura thought as she glared at her friend. "I'm okay as well." She added. "Hey Naruto. Come here. I need to talk to you for a second." She said with a sickly sweet smile.

Naruto wondered what she wanted to talk about and why Ino couldn't hear what it was she had to say. It wasn't until he reached Sakura's bedside that he realized it was a ploy. _'Shit! I forgot about what I did to Kiba!_' He tried to turn and run, hoping he could get away before the pinkette killed him for the perverted act he committed during the exams, but it was too late. Sakura grabbed his wrist and pulled him into a bare knuckle beat down.

"Don't!"

**SMACK**

"Ever!"

**SMACK**

"Do!"

**SMACK**

She pulled her fist back for a big hit. "That again!"

**BOOM**

By the time she was done with him he was a steaming pile of battered flesh flopping on the ground.

"Eh urg." He sputtered. "Sorry."

"Next time I won't be so nice about it! Now get up. I actually do have something I need to talk to you about." Sakura yelled.

Naruto picked himself up from the ground and brushed the dirt off his cloak. Sakura's beating didn't really hurt at all. The attacks were just really flashy, but she never put any power behind them. She has only ever seriously hit him during spars and that is only to help him become a better ninja, not to hurt him.

She motioned for Naruto to come closer so he kneeled by her bedside and stuck his ear out to listen.

(line break)

Ino watched Sakura whisper into Naruto's ear. It seemed that the pinkette wasn't going to waste any time trying to convince Naruto to give up whatever secret it was he held. It was okay with Ino if Sakura pressured him. She really wanted to know what was going on with her crush as soon as possible.

The blond kunoichi watched the facial expressions that Naruto went through as Sakura whispered to him.

Uncertainty. Fear. Anxiety. Sadness. Every awful emotion imaginable covered his face. What could be so bad that he would feel this way? Whatever it was, Ino promised herself that she wouldn't be surprised.

She mused as to what the secret could be. Is he fat and just using a henge to make him look skinny? Is he gay? Ino giggled at her own thoughts. _'I really hope he's not gay.'_ She said to herself.

The blonde girl looked up to see both Naruto and Sakura staring at her.

"Ino-chan. I'm sorry." Naruto said quietly before quickly opening the window and jumping away.

Ino gave an uncertain look to Sakura and she put her head down. "He's too scared right now. Maybe some other time." The pinkette said sadly. "He's over-thinking his situation. I don't know why he is so frightened to tell people. It's really not a bad secret, but it just seems like he's so used to being put down that he doesn't think you will like him anymore if he tells you."

"Have I really put him down that much that he's too scared to let me in?" Ino said more to herself than to Sakura. It pained her greatly that Naruto didn't think he could trust her, but in his defense she was the biggest gossip back when they were in class together. This must be her punishment for having been so nosy for so long.

"We both have." Sakura said quietly. "But it isn't just us. I was in town with Naruto a while back and people avoided him like he had the plague. I got dirty looks from people for just standing next to him." She explained.

"I guess people really don't like all the pranks he's pulled." Ino chuckled.

"No. There's more to it than that. I just don't know what it is yet." Sakura said as she creased her brow in thought.

Ino leaned back and put her arms behind her head. "Maybe one day he'll tell us. All we can do is wait."

Sakura was surprised to hear Ino wasn't going to try to find out why people didn't like Naruto. The pinkette wanted to at least know why people were so cold to him because so far it really seemed like there was no reason. It was just an irrational hate. "Yeah… maybe."

Ino threw her blankets to the side and stood up. "I'm leaving. I only have a mild concussion and they already gave me the pain meds I need." She said as she walked toward the door.

"Yeah. I guess you're right." Sakura agreed as she stood up. "Just don't forget you have to stay awake all night. If you fall asleep your brain may swell and you could die." The practicing medic for team seven said.

Ino waved her off. "Yeah. I know." She said lazily. "Hey, I just realized they never used any smelling salts to wake us up."

"You're right!" Sakura yelled. "Fucking bastards don't know how to do their damn jobs." She raged.

(line break)

A few hours after she left the hospital Ino was looking out of the second story window of her house. If she wasn't struggling so hard to stay awake the stars in the night sky would look beautiful.

She went to her bed and popped open her pain meds before throwing a few in her mouth and chasing it with an energy drink. It was going to be a long night if her headache kept up. Luckily the meds did their job pretty well and within the hour her pounding skull was reduced to a dull throbbing.

Ino grabbed the book on her nightstand and sat down on her bed. It was one of Shakespeare's great tragedies. Hamlet. She hadn't actually read the play before, but now that she had the time and she was forced into staying awake all night the blonde thought it was a good opportunity to expand her literary knowledge.

She was only a few pages deep in the story when she heard a knock on her window. Ino looked out to see the object of her affections staring back at her with a smile on his face.

She walked over and unlocked the window to let Naruto in. "Hey Naruto-kun. What are you doing here?" She asked curiously.

"I came to see how you're doing. Do you maybe wanna go for a walk or something?" He asked nervously.

Ino supposed it was a good idea. Even though Hamlet was interesting it wasn't doing much to keep her awake. Some cool night air and some company would do her well. "Sure." Ino threw on a close fitting purple sweater and walked towards the window. "Let's go back out this way. No reason to wake my parents."

Naruto nodded and followed her out.

Now that her headache was gone she noticed how pretty the streets of Konoha were as she walked down them with Naruto. The moon almost seemed close enough to touch and the occasional street lamp kept their path illuminated enough to make the walk comfortable. The chill of the night air even gave her a good enough reason to wrap her arm around Naruto for warmth.

Even though they didn't say anything to each other, the walk was very pleasant. The lack of conversation wasn't awkward for her because she knew why her blonde crush was being so silent. He was preparing to say what he couldn't back at the hospital. Ino would let him take his time. She was happy just to hold him like she was.

It didn't occur to her that Naruto was actually leading her somewhere until they reached the path that only led to the top of the Hokage monument.

"So..." Naruto finally gained the courage to say something. "I saw you were reading Hamlet."

"Y...Yeah." She said slightly startled. "I thought it was about time I read it. Everyone else has."

"It's a great play. Very romantic." He said to her.

She looked at him and raised her eyebrow. "Umm Naruto-kun. It's actually a tragedy."

He looked back at her and smiled. "I know that Ino-chan, I only say it's romantic because of the poem Hamlet wrote to Ophelia. It was very nice."

"Poem? I don't think I've made it to that part yet." She said.

"Would you... would you like me to recite it for you?" He asked nervously.

Ino blushed a little and pulled him even closer. "I'd really like that."

Naruto cleared his throat and tried to hide his embarrassment by focusing on the stars.

"Doubt though that the stars are fire;

Doubt that the sun doth move;

Doubt truth to be a liar;

But never doubt I love."

Ino looked into Naruto's shining blue eyes as he softly smiled at her. It may have been extremely corny to recite Shakespeare to a girl, but she felt like every word was meant for her and nobody else. "That was... so beautiful Naruto-kun." She said in a flustered voice.

He nervously scratched the back of his head. "Eh thanks. But it's like I said. Romantic."

"You know. You're a lot smarter than you let on at the academy." Ino said as they resumed their walk up the mountain.

"I have to be if I want to be the Hokage." He said proudly.

She rubbed his arm. "You're going to be a great Hokage one day Naruto-kun."

He gave her the brightest smile he had ever given anyone. No one had ever believed in him enough to say he ever had a chance to become Hokage, let alone flat out say he would become it. It made him feel kind of stupid for thinking he had to hide himself from Ino when she had been nothing but supportive for him. "Thank you Ino-chan. That means a lot to me."

They arrived at the top of the monument only seconds later.

"Here we are." Naruto said as he walked towards the edge of the cliff that over looked the city.

Ino stepped next to him and looked across Konoha. "I've never been up here at night like this. It's so pretty!" She gasped. From the top of the Yondaime's head she could clearly see the entire city. All of the lights from the houses and street lamps were scattered, but looked very serene and the faint sounds of people making their way out of the bars and into the streets let them both know that Konoha was still alive no matter what the time. The both chuckled as they heard some of the men singing the drunken songs of Konoha's history.

"They sing the same song every time." Naruto laughed.

For a few minutes they both remained silent and just stared out over their flourishing home.

Naruto was the first to cut through the silence. "I'm sorry."

Ino turned to him. "For what?" She asked.

"I'm sorry for running away from you earlier. It was a mistake." He said sadly.

She leaned her head against his arm. "It's okay Naruto-kun. Honestly."

"Let me make it up to you." He said quietly. "I think I'm ready to show you."

"Show me what?"

He smirked at her. "Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Well… yeah but." She stuttered.

"Good!" He said cutting her off. "Then just stand there for a second."

Naruto backed away and reached both of his hands out of his cloak. He hesitantly wrapped his hands around his collar and pulled the red tattered cloak behind his back, careful not to let Ino see his wing yet.

The mind walker stared at him for a moment. She took in his new apparel with an appreciative glance. His sleeveless purple shirt matched her style and the black overalls that strapped tightly against his chest looked pretty sexy. "Is this what you wanted to show me? A change in wardrobe?" She asked.

He shook his head and opened his arms for a hug. "Would you mind maybe… if I hugged you?" Naruto asked nervously.

Ino blushed, but made her way over to him. She threw her arms over his shoulders and melted into his embrace, that is until she noticed the smirk on his face. "Hold on Ino-chan!" He said excitedly as he used one arm to scoop under her butt and he ran towards the edge of the cliff.

"Ahhh! Naruto what are you doing?" She skipped the suffix and screamed as he planted his foot firmly at the edge and launched them both into the cool, and groundless, night air.

"Don't let go!"

**That is chapter six my friends. I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**


	7. A night's events

**Don't own anything.**

**Sorry again for not really being able to pm anyone back. I'm still hella busy with work and schools. **

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews! Remember, I still haven't chosen all of the swords yet so they are still open for suggestions.**

**Sorry, but no Neji fight this chapter. Next one for sure though!**

**Please enjoy chapter seven.**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

As Naruto jumped off of the cliff, Ino clamped her eyes shut and waited for the fall and then the splat that would inevitably come shortly afterward. She couldn't believe he was going to kill them! Why did she always like the crazy ones?

She waited for the splat, but it never came. In fact, it didn't even feel like she was falling at all.

"You can open your eyes now Ino-chan." Naruto said with amusement in his voice.

The mind walker did as she was told and locked eyes with her crush. "Look." He said as he motioned away with his head.

Ino turned her eyes downward to see they were a few hundred feet above the earth. The girl instantly tightened her grip around Naruto's neck and wrapped her legs around his midsection so tight he lost feeling in his lower half. "Ahhh!"

"I…Ino-ch… chan. I can't brea…" Naruto sputtered out.

She didn't listen to his cries and opted instead to claw at his back until she felt something strange. Her grip lessened and Naruto let out a happy breath.

"This is your secret?" Ino asked as she reached over Naruto's shoulder and grabbed a firm hold of his wing.

They shook a little bit from her disruption of his course, but no real damage done. "Yeah." He said sadly.

"You're serious?" She said sarcastically. "This is what you were afraid to show me?"

Naruto looked at her with surprise. "Huh?"

"This is probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen and you're all mopey about it." She looked down and shivered at how high up they were. "I mean we're freaking flying for Kami's sake!"

"We're not really flying. More like gliding. There's a really strong air current around Konoha that could keep us up all night if we wanted." He said as the wind picked up and they began to ascend.

"You're missing the point." She deadpanned.

It wasn't until he adjusted Ino into a more comfortable position that he noticed how close they were. Her strong legs were still wrapped around his waist and it didn't look like they were going to loosen any time soon. In addition, he still had his arm wrapped under her firm, although plump, butt.

He quickly tried to think of other things to keep his blood from rushing somewhere inappropriate. '_Dead kittens. Dead kittens. Dead kittens._' He thought over and over. It worked even though it brought a small tear to his eye.

"The view from up here is amazing." Ino said softly as she looked down over the town.

Naruto looked at the smooth features of his friend. She looked gorgeous as the wind lightly tossed her silky blonde hair around. "Yeah… amazing." He replied awestruck.

Ino turned to him and smiled. "Thank you for showing me this Naruto-kun."

"I never should have hesitated in the first place." He retorted.

"That's right!" She giggled, but stopped when she saw him looking at her sadly. "What's wrong?"

He gave her a sad smile. "There's more I need to tell you."

For the next thirty minutes Naruto held Ino as they slowly floated around their village. They were on the outskirts so no one in town saw them as Naruto told her the truth about him. The mission in the wave, Gilgamesh, Sephiroth, and the Chuunin exams. He revealed everything to her besides the Kyuubi.

Ino stayed quiet the whole time to take the information in, but after an awkwardly long pause she found the courage to speak. "So that's where that sword you used to bust down the bank vault came from."

He nodded.

"And that's how you got this." She said with a gesture to the wing.

He nodded again.

She sighed. Seeing how depressed Naruto was being made her join in his melancholic state. Ino just wanted him to cheer up. In all honesty, she wasn't any more afraid of him now that she knew his secret. Naruto could never scare her.

"I can't pretend to know what you're going through because I can barely understand it myself. I can see that you're scared, but what are you really afraid of? Being taken over by this Sephiroth guy or losing your friends?" Ino asked.

Naruto looked away sadly. The answer was obvious anyways.

She put her hand gently against his face. "I can tell you right now you will never lose me. I will always be there for you and so will Sakura and Sasuke. So stop acting like a depressed old man and get over it!" She yelled.

He looked back at her and smiled. "A depressed old man huh?" He grinned. "You do know I'm the only thing stopping you from falling right?" He prodded.

She tightened her grip around him. "D…don't mess around like that!" She stuttered.

"Mess around like what?" He chuckled as he did a nose dive towards the ground. Ino screamed and he leveled them back out to return to his slow, comfortable drift around Konoha. "Just kidding."

She slapped him over the head. "That wasn't funny! I was trying to cheer you up!"

Ino felt his arms tighten around her slightly. "And I was trying to show you it worked." He said softly.

Even though the air was cold, she felt warmer than ever in his arms.

The wind began to die down and Naruto made a slow descent back to solid ground. The entire time he and Ino kept their eyes fixed to one another, and neither of them spoke a word.

As Naruto's feet touched the ground, Ino let her legs unwrap from his sides and gingerly set herself down. She had yet to remove her arms from around his neck and had no intention to do so.

She ran her hand through Naruto's unruly locks. The night seemed too perfect. Too many things were going right for her. Her crush was literally in the palm of her hands and now she was hesitant to take another kiss like she had so easily taken earlier that day at the exams.

Why? Ino knew she liked him. He was fantastic so why shouldn't she? Then it dawned on her. Maybe somewhere along the line her feelings had passed like.

Her heart pounded so loud in her chest she was afraid it would drown out their silence. Her nerves began to run so high that the hand tussled in Naruto's hair shook in anxiety. _'I… I think I might love him.'_

It seemed ridiculous to her. How did she fall in love with a guy so quickly? Ino had been in relationships before without results like this. Actually, she wasn't even in a relationship with Naruto and for some reason she cared more about his well being than her own.

It felt like she was drawn to him. His elegant good looks. His charming deep voice. But more than anything it was his personality. Naruto had been nicer to her than any guy ever had been before. And he wasn't nice to her because he was trying to get something out of it; he honestly wanted to make her happy.

Did he feel the same way about her? It seemed like he did. Naruto already admitted that he will remember every moment they spend together due to his photographic memory that only seemed to work in the presence of Sakura or herself. The thought made Ino unbelievably happy except for the inclusion of another girl.

The pinkette was another problem. It was obvious that Naruto still liked her, but Ino wasn't below taking the blonde boy if she had the chance; unless it was already too late of course. It couldn't have been too late. Sakura was too much of a chicken to have made a move, but just to be sure Ino was going to have to have a conversation with her tonight.

"N… Naruto-kun." Ino said in a choppy voice because she was having trouble breathing correctly. Her hand around his neck tensed nervously. "I really like spending time with you."

He smiled at her. "And I love spending time with you Ino-chan."

She got so excited at Naruto using the word 'love' to describe their time together that she almost squealed like a happy toddler.

"I think it's time to go home now." Naruto said quietly.

"Yeah." Ino said sadly as she pulled Naruto into a hug. "Thank you for the wonderful night. And for trusting me." The mind walker regretted not kissing him again, but her shaky nerves left her stuck in place with twitchy lips. _'And I thought Forehead was a chicken.'_

They slowly separated and he nodded to her. "I just wanted to let you know... you mean a lot to me." He said with a smile before quickly disappearing into the night.

Her high from earlier was even stronger now. "Naruto-kun…" She breathed out as she felt the chill of the midnight air.

(line break)

Naruto walked through Konoha with a wide grin after his encounter with Ino. He was so happy she accepted him despite his condition that he almost told her he held the Kyuubi, but he decided that maybe that piece of information would hit too close to home. No one else knew the Kyuubi like he did so no one else knew the fox wasn't really bad. They would only remember the destruction it had caused. Still, he was resolved to one day personally tell Ino about his other unfortunate prisoner.

For the first time in a long time he felt entirely alive and rejuvenated! He had friends who cared for him and that was all that mattered anymore.

Speaking of his friends, Naruto wondered how Sasuke was doing. He hadn't seen the Uchiha since his match earlier, but if the black haired boy was awake Naruto knew where he'd be; the Uchiha training grounds.

(line break)

On his way to see Sasuke, Naruto walked past the hot springs. The blonde stopped when he heard a small chuckle coming from one of the bushes so he decided to check it out. He didn't like perverts very much and this wouldn't be the first time he chased some creepy guy away from the bath houses. They seem to flock there like gnats to a flame.

Naruto pulled the bush back to see an old man with white hair giggling as he looked through a peep hole in the wooden fence that blocked out the women's bathing area. He was writing furiously into a notebook, which actually relieved Naruto because at least his pants were still up. The last guy he caught had his pants around his ankles and Naruto still hasn't got that image out of his head.

The sword wielding blonde didn't even give the old man a chance to say anything as he summoned the Buster Sword and charged up a blade beam. Naruto swung down the giant cleaver and the blue light of his limit break flew through the ground towards the perv.

The white haired peeping tom turned his head just in time to see the light explode in front of him. "OH SHIIIIIIiiiiiiiii..." Naruto heard the man's voice fade as he went flying into the clouds and disappeared with a twinkle of a star.

Naruto smiled and clapped the dust off of his hands for a job well done. He didn't really know who the guy was, but he could go without ever seeing him again. However, he had bad feeling that he would see him again. And soon.

(line break)

After only a few minutes of walking, the blonde haired jinchuuriki walked through the entrance to the deserted Uchiha compound and straight to the family training grounds. It wasn't hard to find where he was because Naruto just had to follow the sound of explosions.

The blonde watched for a few moments as Sasuke practiced his fire jutsu on small targets around his camp. The prodigy's accuracy was perfect and the size of the fireballs he spewed was immense for someone his age. Naruto used his wing to block some chunks of trees and targets that flew in the air from the Uchiha's intense session and, as he watched, Naruto found a new appreciation for his friend.

"Oi teme. Don't overdo it now." Naruto shouted as he tossed a bottle of water he kept with him to the training fiend.

Sasuke turned and caught the bottle. "This is not overdoing it." He said as he took a long drink of water.

"Well I'm afraid to see what it looks like when you're trying then." Naruto chuckled.

Sasuke smirked and motioned over to a downed log. The two members of team seven laid down and propped their heads up against the dead tree to look up at the stars.

Neither of the two said anything for minutes as they admired the night sky. It was such a nice night that neither of them felt like moving, let alone talking. But Naruto was there for an important reason and he didn't have the option of silence.

"Your opponent is going to be the sand ninja Gaara." Naruto said.

"Yes I know. Kakashi told me." Sasuke answered as he took another swig of water.

"Did sensei tell you anything about the fight he had against Lee?"

"No."

Naruto sighed. "Lee was crushed. He will probably never be a ninja again." The blonde paused for a few moments to let the info sink in, but he knew Sasuke wouldn't back down just because the redhead was dangerous. "Here's what you need to know. Gaara attacks with sand that comes from the gourd on his back. The sand is very fast, but it's even faster when he uses his hands to guide it. He constantly has a thin layer of armor around his skin so normal hand to hand won't work."

"Hmm." Sasuke hummed to himself.

"I don't really know what you can do besides ask sensei. I mean, I had another idea, but it probably wouldn't work." Naruto said exasperated.

"What is your idea?" The usual loner asked.

"Well…" Naruto said as he rubbed his chin. "His sand is good at blocking physical attacks, but what about ninjutsu? Lee didn't know any so I don't really know what would happen if you- I don't know- used a fire jutsu on him. I figure that, even if he were to block it, he couldn't help but feel the heat. So if you use a fire attack that is nonstop he might lose oxygen and pass out or he might overheat."

"That is a very interesting idea. However, my chakra levels are only so high. I'd need to build them to hold the fire continuously."

"Yeah I know." Naruto huffed. "It would've been a gamble anyways."

Sasuke eyed the blonde curiously. He was a lot smarter than he originally thought. His idea was actually very good considering the current abilities the Uchiha possessed.

"Your opponent is the Hyuga. Correct?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah! And I'm going to kick the living shit out of him too." He said as he threw his fist toward the sky.

"Alright dobe. Stand up." Sasuke said as he pushed himself off the log they were resting on.

Naruto put his hands behind his head. "I think I'm good down here." Naruto started to say before a kunai imbedded itself dangerously close to his groin. "Ah okay!" The startled blonde said as he rose and dusted the dirt off his cloak.

Sasuke settled into a low stance.

"What are you doing teme?" The curious blonde asked.

"This doesn't look familiar?" Sasuke said as he lifted his right hand in front of him and his sharingan activated. "From what I was told by Kakashi you saw this earlier today."

Naruto quirked an eyebrow. The stance did look familiar somehow.

"How about this." Sasuke said as he dropped his head. "You're within my field of divination."

The blonde cringed as Sasuke ran forward and delivered blow after blow using the gentle fist style of taijutsu. None of the hits were infused with chakra so they did nothing more than push him off his feet, but the point still got across.

Once the black haired boy stopped, Naruto picked himself off of the ground. "How do you know the Hyuga style?"

Sasuke pointed at his sharingan and smirked. "I may have accidentally witnessed a Hyuga training a while ago." He said non-chalantly.

Sasuke didn't want Naruto to know the truth. What actually happened was, as soon as Kakashi had sealed the curse mark and told him the blonde was going to fight against Neji, he ran to the nearest chuunin training grounds and watched a branch member of the Hyuga family as they practiced with their team. Sasuke sapped every bit of info with his sharingan that he could so he could help Naruto later.

He used the sharingan for the real reason it was made. Not for personal glory, but to help ones comrades by learning the enemies techniques.

"I don't like owing people favors and the way I see it I owe you a couple." Sasuke grunted. "So I figure I will give you one hour against the gentle fist style and we call it even."

Naruto settled into the academy style stance and smirked. "Sounds fair to me."

(line break)

Ino was desperately trying to get the blush off of her face that Naruto left her with, but so far she still looked like a ripe tomato. Every time she would lose a bit of redness, she would remember everything that had just happened. His breath on her face, the smell of his hair, his soft words. Her face went red again and she tried to cover it with her hands.

"Ahhh come on already!" She yelled at herself.

Ino looked up at the bedroom window of her competition for Naruto's heart. She thought that it would be best to get this whole situation out of the way and, since Sakura had a concussion too, Ino knew she'd be awake. The blonde smiled when she saw light coming from the room telling her the pinkette was home.

Ino gave herself a small slap on the face. "Alright. You can do this." She said as she jumped up to the second story awning and looked through the window.

Ino peered through the glass to see Sakura sitting in a chair and dozing off at her desk. _'I can't believe she tried to lecture me about staying awake!'_ Ino smiled. _'Well maybe she just needs a wake up call.'_ She evilly said to herself.

Ino slowly cracked open the window and silently crawled inside the pinkette's room. It wasn't very hard to sneak up on the other girl due to the fact that she was barely awake, but Ino still employed her skills as a kunoichi to stay quiet as she approached her from behind.

Sakura had shifted and propped her head up on her hand while she closed her eyes, so Ino moved to her side and pulled her arm out from under her chin. After a small startled squeak, Sakura's head slammed into her desk, which shocked her awake and caused her to tip back in her chair and hit the floor.

Ino openly laughed at the fuming pinkette scrambling to get up. "Ino-pig! What the fuck are you doing in my room?" Sakura yelled as she rubbed her face.

Ino waved her off. "Relax Forehead. I'm here to keep you awake. See?" The blonde said as she set a six pack of energy drinks on the desk. "I figured it would be easier to stay up if we did it together."

Sakura growled and kicked Ino's leg out from under her, which caused the blonde to fall flush up against the pinkette.

Ino pushed herself up and mashed her breasts into Sakura's face. "Oh. I only came here to hang out Forehead, but it seems like you have other ideas for me." The blonde purred. "I never knew you felt this way." Ino said with a smirk as she straddled Sakura.

The vein in Sakura's head was throbbing so hard it looked like it was about to burst. "Get off of me!" The pinkette yelled as she hit Ino in her right tit and knocked her over.

"Owowowowow!" Ino squealed as she rubbed her sore breast. "That was low Sakura. I think you bruised it." The blonde pouted as she took off her sweater and undid her top to reveal her bare chest.

Sakura looked at her in jealous amazement. "Put your shirt back on!" She yelled with red cheeks.

Ino looked up at her with her hand still rubbing her sore breast. "What?" She smirked. "Is it turning you on too much? I knew you wanted to do me!" She laughed.

"No! Gawd why are you so skanky!" Sakura screamed.

Ino gave her a fake frowny face. "Hey now Forehead. That hurt."

The pinkette crossed her arms. "I'm just calling it like I see it." She huffed.

"Oh yeah?" Ino challenged. "Well I think you're just jealous."

"What!"

"Yeah! You're jealous because my body is rockin and yours is flat as day old beer!" Ino said with a fist raised in front of her.

"My body is not flat! It's toned!" Sakura returned with equal intensity, but in all honesty she would kill for a body like Ino's.

Ino laughed again. "No guy wants a toned girl. Especially, not Naruto-kun. He wants a full figured woman like me." She said as she put her hands above her head and thrust her bare chest out.

"Will you just cover yourself up?" Sakura said through gritted teeth.

"Fine." Ino said as she put her top back on. "Prude."

Sakura sighed in relief as she stood up and cracked open an energy drink. "Well since you're here we might as well make a night out of it. We only have to stay awake for a few more hours anyways." She took a big swig and slammed down the caffeinated beverage. "So what'dya wanna do Skankerella?"

"Who are you calling Skankerella? I've seen the way you look at Naruto-kun. You're not exactly the picture of chastity either you closet slut."

Sakura put down her drink and lowered her head. She couldn't help, but to start laughing. Soon after Ino joined in until they were both holding their sides in pain. "It's like every time we see each other it's a fight." Sakura said as she wiped a tear from her eye.

"Yeah." Ino agreed. "It would be weird if we didn't fight just a little bit though." She laughed.

Sakura went over to her closet and opened the door. "Hey Ino. Why don't you just stay the night? I've got some sleeping clothes in here for you if you want them."

Ino nodded. "Sounds like a plan! We can stay up together until we're allowed to sleep again."

The two girls changed into some loose fitting shirts and short shorts. Ino laid down on Sakura's bed and impatiently waited as the pinkette ruffled through her desk.

"Ah! Here they are." Sakura exclaimed as she pulled as set of different colored nail polishes out of her drawer. She took the orange colored polish out and started shaking it as she handed the rest of the set to Ino.

"Orange huh? I'm going with red." Said Ino as she took out her chosen color and positioned herself across from her friend.

Ino set her left hand on Sakura's knee and Sakura did the same to Ino. They switched polishes and slowly started to paint each others nails while making small talk. It was something so simple, yet they hadn't done it for each other in years and it felt nostalgic to have their hands resting on the others knee again.

"So." Ino said as she started painting Sakura's index finger. "Naruto visited me before I came here."

Sakura didn't look up as if she wasn't surprised, but she was actually trying to keep her anger in check. She didn't like other girls around her teammate. "And?" The pinkette asked.

"He told me everything." Ino blew on Sakura's completed nails and the kunoichi switched hands.

"Explain 'everything.'" Sakura didn't want to accidentally bring up something Naruto hadn't told her.

"The swords he uses, both of the spirits in him, the wing... I think that was it." The blonde said as she looked up for a moment. "Yeah. That was the gist of it."

"How did you react?" Sakura asked non-chalantly.

"How did I react?" She asked herself. Ino put her hand over Sakura's and looked into her emerald eyes. "Oh I..." The blonde said as she put her head down.

Sakura let go of her hand. "What did you do? Did you upset him?" She growled.

Ino waved her hands in defense. "Whoa! It's nothing like that it's just... judging by your reaction I can guess how you feel about him." Ino said quietly.

"How I feel about him?" Sakura furrowed her brow.

"Yeah. You like him too right?"

"I don't really know." She said as her eyes darted downward. "Well… I know I like him but..."

"But?"

"He makes me feel so weird. I can't really explain it." She tapped her chin. "It's like when he's near me I feel so... I don't know." Sakura was trying to evade the question.

"I think I might know how you feel Sakura." Ino said sadly.

"You do?"

Ino eyes brightened considerably as she thought about Naruto. "It's like when he's near me I'm drawn to him. When he's sad I am too. When he's happy I'm happy." She said with a smile.

Sakura gave Ino a slightly worried look. The pinkette was afraid of what was coming. "Ino... what are you...?"

"I love him Sakura." Ino said affirmatively. "And I think you do too."

The pinkette was instantly saddened by the blonde's confession. Everything just became more complicated. "I... don't love him like that."

Ino chuckled softly. "Who are you trying to kid?"

"Ino..." She was grasping at straws for some leeway. The blonde was pushing too hard.

"Alright." Ino said as she put a half manicured hand up to silence her friend. "I want you to think for a moment. What would you do if Neji kills Naruto-kun in the final matches next month?"

Sakura didn't want to think about that. Honestly she had been doing all she could to forget the mortal peril Naruto would be in during the matches. Still, from everything she's heard about the Hyuga, the outlook was pretty bleak. She believed in Naruto, but that didn't stop her from worrying. "I'd probably k…" Her words faded as she mumbled them out.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"I'd probably kill Neji." Sakura breathed out.

"You see? I bet you already know how you would do it too."

Sakura looked away in shame. She had already thought about it. She even had a rough draft for revenge in her desk that she had been working on. That reminded her, she should destroy any proof she had made those plans. Normally, the pinkette wouldn't get so worked up, but when she talked to Tenten at the hospital earlier and found out what Neji had said to Naruto she had a moment of blind rage. How dare someone threaten him! Chances are she wouldn't go through with her plans, but it comforted her to know that she was ready for any situation.

She had a similar paper drawn out for Gaara in case he was to hurt or kill Sasuke. It made her shiver to think that she would take life so easily for her teammates. Even though she was still only a genin, being a ninja had really changed her.

"So what? I would do the same thing for you Ino."

The blonde smiled at her friend. "Really? You would do something like that for me?"

Sakura face went red. "Well… yeah."

Ino smirked. "Well that doesn't change the fact that you love Naruto-kun." Sakura didn't try as hard to deny it this time. "In any case, I was just wondering if you had made you move on him yet and, since it seems like you haven't, I will."

"The hell you..."

Ino cut Sakura off again. "I'm through with arguing. I'm done with underhanded tricks and schemes to get him. I won't treat this the same way I did with Sasuke. I don't want to fight with you, but I will not give up on trying to get Naruto-kun unless you get him before me."

"So it will be a fair game then? No lying or cheating. Just us and him." Sakura questioned with a skeptical look.

"That's right. And no arguing either. If he ends up with you then so be it. But if he wants to be with me then you have to accept that." Ino held out her hand for an agreement.

Sakura grabbed the open palm and shook. "It's a deal. May the best girl win."

A sly smirk covered Ino's face. "Oh… she will."

Sakura scoffed. "You don't even know what you're up against Piggy." She laughed as she took the brush full of polish out of its container. "Let's just finish our fingernails up and then we can do pedicures."

(line break)

Sasuke and Naruto were heaving in deep breaths as they sat next to each other by the downed log they were by earlier. The one hour training session turned into a three hour session and now light was beginning to peak from behind the horizon as they both tried to catch their breath.

Sasuke pulled out a few water bottles from behind the tree and passed one to Naruto. The blonde nodded in appreciation and drank the whole bottle in one go. "Ahhh. That hit the spot!" He said with a huge grin.

Sasuke took a drink from his and leaned back against the log again. Naruto joined him and they looked up at the multi colored sunrise.

"So why were you still up anyways?" Naruto asked.

"Why are you?" Sasuke asked to avoid the fact that his curse mark was throbbing incessantly and he couldn't hope to sleep.

"Quit dodging teme. Is it that thing on your neck that's keeping you awake?"

Sasuke put his hand over the evil blight and cringed. Even the mention of the mark made it flare up. "No."

"Don't lie to me. I can tell when you do." Naruto said with a smile. "So what happened?"

Sasuke dropped his hand and sighed. "You saw Orochimaru bite me, but what we didn't know was he injected me with a curse. Whenever I get angry, this mark covers my body and it feels like my veins are on fire." He held a shaky hand out in front of him.

Naruto put his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder. "No problem. All we have to do is get rid of it. Easy!" He promised.

The black haired boy smirked and pushed the hand off of him. "I told you I don't like owing favors. I will take care of this problem myself."

The sun began to shine and the boys squinted as the light flooded their eyes. Naruto gave a quick look around to make sure they were alone before pulling his wing out from behind his cloak and using it as a shield from the burning rays.

As the wing covered Sasuke in darkness he could feel the pain in his neck recede to almost nothing. He looked over at his blonde friend with wide eyes to see him sporting a carefree smile. "I honestly don't care if you don't want my help. You're getting it whether you like it or not." It was a little eerie how he said it with such a large grin.

Sasuke turned away from the blonde, but without the pain from the curse mark to keep him awake the black haired boy found himself dozing off. After only a few seconds, the last of the Uchiha was fast asleep and dreaming about happier times.

Naruto stood and smiled at his sleeping friend before swooping him up with his wing and walking towards the main house of the Uchiha. "I won't call this one a favor, but next time you need a nap won't be free of charge."

(line break)

As the black haired boy opened his eyes he was not comforted to find he wasn't outside. Someone had moved him into his room instead. "Naruto." He said through gritted teeth. The thought of another person holding him while he was helpless made his pride sting.

The pale onyx eyed boy turned around in his king sized bed to see a boy slumped over in a chair next to him. It was Naruto and he was passed out in a sitting position as the sun peeked through the window behind him. Judging from the sun's position it was before noon, which meant they had only been sleeping for around five hours.

Even with the short amount of sleep, Sasuke felt more rested than he had in a long time. He also felt like his blanket was oddly scratchy. When he looked down he found out why. Naruto had draped his wing over him while he slept and let him use it as a blanket.

"I know what you're about to ask." Sasuke looked over to see Naruto's open eyes. "And it's really not what it looks like so don't get any ideas." Naruto said in a low voice.

Sasuke raised and eyebrow as he looked down the dark wing that he was wrapped up in. Slowly he took his hand out of the 'blanket' and pulled it off of him by grabbing the edge between his thumb and forefinger and peeling it off. "I have no questions because this never happened. Got it?" The black haired boy said with a threatening stare.

Naruto stood up and pulled the wing back under his cloak. "I couldn't agree with you more."

Sasuke felt the pain from his mark return when Naruto pulled away and he realized why the blonde did what he did. _'He must have seen me in pain and stayed so I could sleep.'_ The Uchiha ran a hand through his hair. _'Damn. I owe him again.'_

"Here." Naruto said as he held something in his extended hand and looked away.

Sasuke grabbed the item from the blonde's hand and peered at it with a slightly angry look. It was one of Naruto's feathers. "I don't need this."

Naruto put his hand out in a stopping motion. "Just take the damn thing. It'll help you sleep."

"I told you." Sasuke said to protect his significantly dwindled pride. "I. Don't. Need. It." He dropped the feather, but as soon as he did he fell to the floor grabbed his neck as the pain flared up again.

Naruto sighed and picked the feather up off the floor before tucking it inside Sasuke's collar. The pain receded immediately.

"I know you want to do things by yourself all the time." Naruto said as he helped his friend up. "But I'm here to help you."

Sasuke leaned up and sat in the chair with his head hung low.

"We all have dreams." He sat in the bed across from the Uchiha. "Ambitions too. But maybe you didn't understand me earlier when I said I'd protect you with my life. Part of that means your ambitions are mine. I will help you today. I will help you tomorrow. And I will help you when you are ready to fulfill your ambition."

Sasuke quickly brought his head up and took a quick breath. "You… would help me?" No one ever offered to help with his goal before. He had never given anyone a chance to get close enough to him to ask, but he still didn't believe anyone would help him. It was his stern belief and upbringing that he was born alone and he would die alone.

The raven haired boy was trying to find something more to say, but the words were stuck in his throat. Lucky for him they were interrupted by a knock on the doorframe. "Hello you two."

The genin turned their heads to the door. "Kakashi-sensei! What are you doing here?" Naruto said with a big smile.

It warmed the old jonin's heart to see his student's giant grin. "I was actually looking for both of you." The one eyed jonin said as he walked next to the boys, his eyes deep in an Icha Icha book.

"Why is it you have come here?" Sasuke asked in a slightly more subdued tone than normal.

Kakashi turned the page of his smut. "You both have one month before the finals. So I decided to take you out with me for some private training."

"Sounds awesome!" Naruto said excitedly.

Kakashi sighed. "Sorry Naruto, but I won't be taking you out with us. I tried to get you both, but the Hokage said he already had another person who was going to train you."

"Another person. But who?"

(line break)

"You!" The same old pervert from earlier that day was standing in the Hokage's office as Naruto arrived to find his new trainer.

The old man dramatically pointed his finger at the young blonde. "You little brat! Do you know how far away I landed?"

The Hokage looked at his guest with a quirked eyebrow. "You've already met?"

"Yeah we've met!" Naruto yelled. "This guy was peeping into the women's bath houses and I knocked his block off!"

"Why you son of a…"

"Alright, calm down you two. I don't want a fight in my office today." The Hokage scolded.

They both slumped their shoulders and Naruto grudgingly took a seat in front of them. "So I heard I'm going to be trained by someone." The blonde said as he crossed his arms and looked away from the visitor.

If he would've looked at the pervert he would have seen him raking a hand through his hair in annoyance. "That's right. One of my former students volunteered to help train you for the next month." Sarutobi said.

That caught Naruto's interest. Anyone who was the Hokage's student had to be strong and honorable. Right? "So who is it?"

"I think he can introduce himself." The Sarutobi said with a hint of playfulness in his voice.

The pervert growled and stepped forward. "The name's Jiraiya." He reluctantly said. "And I'll be training you."

The blonde smacked his head down into his hand. "Great. I'm going to be taught by a pervert." He said under his breath.

"What was that?" Jiraiya yelled with steam blowing out of his nose.

Naruto stuck his hand out. "I said my name is Uzumaki Naruto! Nice to meet you!" He put on the biggest fake smile he could.

Jiraiya squinted his eyes in question and crossed his arms. "Little faker." The old pervert pouted as he put his arm out and shook Naruto's outstretched hand.

"For the record..." Jiraiya let go of Naruto's hand and did a quick spin before thrusting his pointer finger into the air. "I am actually a super pervert sage!" He announced with a happy grin.

Naruto dropped his head. "That's not something you're supposed to admit to."

Jiraiya began to explain the reasons why it was cool to be perverted, but Naruto tuned him out when he heard Gilgamesh speak to him. The blonde's eyes went wide when he heard the voice speak the words he was dreading to hear.

'_I… can't hold him much longer.'_

(line break)

"Hey! Are you listening to me?"

Naruto looked up at his newest trainer. Jiraiya had taken them out right away to begin preparing, but since Gilgamesh had given the jinchuuriki the bad news he had been too distracted to really listen to the old man.

Naruto gave the old guy a big reassuring grin. "Of course I am Ero-sennin!" He said in fake excitement as he sat cross legged in front of the sannin.

Jiraiya grumbled at the new nickname. "Good. Now then…" Naruto tuned him out again the second he started talking.

What was he going to do? Pretty soon he was going to have to fight off Sephiroth all day every day. It wasn't impossible for Naruto to hold his own against him if he was allowed to concentrate, but there was no way he could function normally while pushing the malevolent spirit back. He was basically stuck in one place until Sephiroth stopped fighting.

A word from Jiraiya got caught in Naruto's ear. "…Kyuubi."

The blonde perked up and looked his new master in the eye. "What was that?"

The old man huffed. "I said I heard Orochimaru cut you off from the Kyuubi so the first thing I am going to do is fix that."

Naruto jumped up. "Are you serious? You can do that?" He said animatedly as he clung to the front of Jiraiya's coat.

He gave Naruto a weird look. "Well yeah. I said I was a sage didn't I?" He said like it was obvious.

Naruto threw his coat off without even caring that his wing was exposed. He quickly pushed the straps of the suspenders off of his shoulders and lifted up his dark purple shirt to show Jiraiya the seal on his stomach. "Alright then." He said with a smirk.

'_Don't worry Gilgamesh. Help's coming!'_

(line break)

There was no question about it. It was really just a matter of time before Sephiroth won.

He was lucky to have lasted as long as he had against the pale man.

Since the Forest of Death, Gilgamesh had been in a desperate losing battle with Sephiroth. At any normal time Gilgamesh was formless. He was only a spirit with no real body, but because of the danger Sephiroth posed, he had made himself take shape so he could defend Naruto's mind.

The appearance he took was that of a blue skinned, six armed man. He thought one hand for each of the six swords was an appropriate simile of Naruto's power. That wasn't the only thing he modeled after his container's person. The red cloak Naruto wore was now draped along Gilgamesh's newly created form in the same way the blonde wears it (for a visual image look up FF8 Gilgamesh). For the lower half of his body, he wore polka dot pajama pants that tucked into his shoes. No one ever said a spirit had to be fashionable.

For some reason this form felt familiar to him.

The blue skinned spirit held God Eater in his middle right hand and the Buster Sword in his middle left as he powered through the battle. The full power of the Gilgamesh may only be less than half complete because not every sword was awakened yet, but he was putting up the best fight he could.

"You have gotten in my way for the last time. I let you live until now because I thought you may be of use to me." Sephiroth said as he lifted Masamune above his head. "but I've changed my mind."

Gilgamesh wasn't given a moment before Sephiroth blasted at him at a speed that was faster than humanly possible. The sword spirit knew the silver haired man was strong, but even he didn't expect the kind of strength Sephiroth possessed.

The blue skinned spirit held him for as long as he could, but he was fighting a losing battle. He wasn't used to his body yet and couldn't mechanics of it, which made it easy for him to get overpowered. _'__I… can't hold him much longer.__'_ Gilgamesh sent out to his container.

"You've outgrown your usefulness." Sephiroth said as he slammed the blue skinned man to the ground by his throat and choked some of the life out of him. "And I thought a fellow god would have been a challenge. Oh well."

Gilgamesh winced at the new sensation of pain he was made to endure. As a spirit, it was unlike anything he had ever felt before. _"A… god?"_ He questioned, but received no answer as Sephiroth squeezed his throat tighter.

The blue skinned spirit grasped onto the Buster Sword and let a blade beam explode into the ground beneath him, which sent Sephiroth back a few feet.

The silver haired man wasted no time in recovering and instantly came back to kick Gilgamesh in the stomach. Sephiroth raised his sword to finish off the nuisance once and for all.

As he prepared a downward strike with Masamune, a bright flaming chain caught his hand in midair. Sephiroth turned his head and cast an angry glare at the red metal wrapped around his wrist. "The fox." The pale man said as another chain wrapped around his neck and pulled him backwards until his back hit the ground.

Sephiroth didn't even try to struggle as more chains wrapped around his body and tightened around him until he was securely fastened in place. He only chuckled at the attempt to stop him. "These chains won't hold forever." He said as he busted through the first layer of metal just to be wrapped up by more.

A loud stomping signified the entrance of the Kyuubi. **"I'm not letting you get out again!"** The red fox growled in anger as he stormed towards the two spirits. He was still upset about being cut off from his host for so long.

The giant fox demon slammed his paw down on Sephiroth's gut and held it there. **"You're staying right there!"** He looked over at Gilgamesh to find him quickly recovering from his battle. **"You can go back into your spirit form. I will take care of this from now on."**

Gilgamesh slowly approached the paw holding Sephiroth. _"It is my duty to hold him as well. I will not sit idly by and chance him wreaking havoc."_ He took God Eater and laid it across the pale man's legs. They could all hear bones cracking under the pressure as the heavy sword settled into place.

Then the blue skinned spirit moved toward Sephiroth's head to shove the Buster Sword into the ground next to his neck and hold it like a guillotine.

Sephiroth looked at his two wardens and let out a bone chilling laugh. "This boy is my vessel." He stated. "Even if you hold me here he will still do my bidding. There are more ways than one for me to create him in my image."

The watchmen stared down at the silver haired man with contempt. **"Not if we have anything to do with it."**

Gilgamesh nodded with the fox. _"Now. Why did you refer to me as a_ god?" He said as he looked down at the prisoner.

(line break)

Jiraiya removed his hand from Naruto's seal to find the boy smiling as he held his stomach. "Thank you... Ero-sennin." He said quietly as he warmly rubbed the spot where the sage had just corrected the seal.

Jiraiya waved his hand dismissively. "Ah that was nothing. Orochimaru's fuin jutsu was easier to remove Tsunade's bra after she drinks too much tequila." The white haired sage went red as he thought about the night that happened. From that day on, he always kept some Jose Cuervo Gold on him just in case he ran into her again.

'_Who the hell is Tsunade?_' Naruto watched the old man snicker like a schoolgirl and he knew he was plotting some sort of perverted activity. "Ero-sennin." He said grumpily.

Jiraiya turned. "Alright keep your pants on kid." He said as he walked over to him and put his arm around his shoulder. "Just follow me and we can begin the real training!"

After a few minutes they stopped at a conspicuous spot that Naruto thought he remembered being near a giant gorge. He dismissed the thought promptly as he was sure it didn't matter.

The old man reached behind his back and pulled out a large scroll. "Here's the first step of your training." He said as he unrolled the paper.

"What is it?" The curious blonde asked.

"This, my boy, is the toad summoning contract... and now you are given the illustrious chance to join the select few summoners that have been a part of it!"

Naruto looked down and saw Jiraiya's name on the contract written in blood, but the last name on the list was what really shocked him. "Is that the Yondaime's name!" He said excitedly.

Jiraiya smirked at the boy's enthusiasm. He didn't even know that it was his own dad he was fawning over. "Sure is! I told you us toad summoners are damn illustrious."

"What do I have to do?" Naruto asked with glee.

"Just prick your finger and draw some blood. Then sign your name here." He said as he pointed at the empty space on the sheet. "And you're all set to start summoning."

Naruto did as he was told with a smile on his face. He couldn't believe he was signing his name next to the Yondaime's! He had been his idol since he could remember.

"Alright then. Repeat after me." Jiraiya made the seals. Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram. Then he slammed his hand down and a cloud of smoke covered the area.

When the white cloud finally dispersed Naruto looked forward to see Jiraiya smirking as he sat cross legged on a toad the size of a large bear. "I know. It's awesome." He said arrogantly.

Naruto wanted to disagree with him, but he was right. It was awesome.

In another puff of smoke the toad was gone and Jiraiya was back in front of the pale blonde boy. "Now you try. Just do it like I did... and try to put some chakra behind it will you?"

Naruto glared at the pervert before going through the signs. Boar-Dog-Bird-Monkey-Ram. He slammed his hand down to the ground in hope and the same giant puff of smoke arose. However, when it cleared there was no giant toad for him to sit on and don the same superior smirk his teacher just had. Instead there was a little tadpole flapping around on the ground gasping for air.

"Nani?" Naruto asked with a raised brow.

Jiraiya slapped his head. "I thought I said put some chakra behind it!" He groaned as the tadpole dismissed itself.

Naruto turned to the old man. "I did!" He pouted. "Maybe my footing was off or something." The blonde grumbled.

The pervert sighed. "Footing has nothing to do with it baka."

"Who are you calling a baka? You pervert!"

"Super Pervert!" He corrected animatedly.

"It doesn't matter!"

"Look." Jiraiya said as he put his hands up. "You're not using enough chakra. You need to tap into the Kyuubi for more!"

"I don't know how to!" Naruto returned with equal fervor.

The old man smirked as an interesting thought came to him. The kid was going to be pissed after this. If he lives, that is. "I have an idea. But first why don't you get that junk off of your forehead."

Naruto crossed his eyes as he tried to look at his own forehead. "What junk?" He said as he rubbed his head to try to remove the 'stain.'

"It must be sap or something because it's not coming off." Jiraiya said as he scratched his chin. "Here I'll get it."

As the old man reached forward, Naruto could feel something was amiss, but he shrugged it off. The pervert stopped his hand right in front of the blonde's forehead and gave the boy a wide smirk. "Psych." He said as he flicked Naruto's head so hard he went flying through the bushes and out of the training area.

The jinchuuriki's eyes went wide as he went sailing towards a deep gorge that was on the other side of the bushes.

Jiraiya's initial plan was simple. As the boy fell into the gorge, he would get distressed enough to call upon the Kyuubi's chakra and would summon a toad large enough to save him. However, the sage had forgotten for a moment that this boy was special. Not because he was the Yondaime's son. Not because he was the most hyperactive knucklehead in Konoha. But it was because he... had a wing.

Naruto instantly expanded the feathers of his great black wing and slowed his horizontal speed to nil. At the same time he summoned the Buster Sword and shoved it into the ground to stop himself from reaching the edge of the cliff.

Jiraiya was just about to go through the bushes to check on the free falling boy when he heard the same frightening sound he had heard the night before. "Blade beam!"

The old man's eyes went wide a blue ball of energy exploded in front of him and sent him crashing into a tree. "You asshole! Why the hell did you do that?" Naruto screamed as he jumped over the bushes. "You could've killed me!"

Jiraiya waved his hands in defense. "You were supposed to tap into the Kyuubi's chakra and summon a toad to save yourself!"

Naruto waved his arms in the air. "That's why you did that? To make me summon a fucking toad? I only tried one time you douchebag! At least give me a redo before you decide to toss me into a bottomless pit!"

Jiraiya stood up. "Well I probably should have done that and I'm sorry!" The old man yelled even though he was apologizing.

Naruto pulled his head back and quirked his eyebrow in confusion. "Well..." He said in shock of the odd response. "As long as you know."

Jiraiya scratched his head nervously. "Uhh. You want to try again?"

The blonde looked at the old guy wearily. "Oh... yeah sure." He said as he dismissed the Buster Sword.

Jiraiya spoke up. "And remember..."

"A lot of chakra." Naruto interrupted. "Got it."

The blonde moved into position and adjusted his feet. "Watch this time." He said as he pointed at his boots. "It's all about the feet."

Jiraiya scoffed and folded his arms as the boy went through the same seals and slammed his hand onto the ground. Only this time, instead of a small puff of smoke, there was a mountain sized cloud. As the air cleared the smoke away, Naruto looked down to see he was now atop an enormous toad smoking a pipe the size of a semi-truck.

"Jiraiya." The giant toad bellowed. "What the hell did you call me here for?"

The old man's mouth dropped open in amazement of Naruto's success and his failure. _'Oh come on! Gamabunta? Jeez this kid's luck sucks.'_ Jiraiya said to himself as he scuffled behind a tree. The boss toad tended to be a little grumpy when he is summoned for no reason and he didn't want to get mixed up in that problem. He'd just watch this one play out. _'I can't believe changing his footing actually worked. That's just stupid.'_

The Kyuubi laughed in Naruto's head **"Footing! That's just stupid!"**

"It wasn't Ero-sennin. It was me!" Naruto said as he thrusted his thumb towards his chest.

The old battle scarred toad crossed his eyes to look at the end of his snout. "Who the hell are you? Where's Jiraiya?"

Naruto looked around for a second. "I don't know where the old guy went, but I'm Uzumaki Naruto and I'm your new summoner!" The red cloaked boy shot him a smile.

Gamabunta laughed. "There's no way someone as puny as you could summon the chief of the toads! Now get off of me. I need to find that white haired bastard and teach him a thing or two about respect."

"Fuck you fly licker! I was the one who summoned you!" Naruto shouted.

The toad frowned angrily. "Get off!" He yelled as he shook his head back and forth to rid him of the blonde nuisance.

"Not until you accept me as your summoner!" Naruto shouted as he clamped down onto the slimy skin of the toad.

Gamabunta stopped flailing. "Fine brat! Get on my head. If you can stay there without me knocking you off for one full day I will accept you!" He thought it would only take a few seconds to knock Naruto off so he gave the boy a chance.

Naruto smirked. "And if you forfeit before one full day is up?"

The toad laughed. "That won't happen."

"But if it does." Naruto asked again.

The toad looked at the odd boy who wouldn't stop smirking and wondered what he could possibly be thinking. "Well then I guess you win."

"Good." The blonde said as he made his way towards the top of Gamabunta's head.

The toad could feel the boy's chakra spreading his back. _'He must be trying to use his chakra to stick to me._' The shinobi didn't know that his slimy skin wouldn't let him adhere to it. "That won't work on me boy." The toad taunted.

Naruto smirked wider when the toad tried to assume his actions. He decided it would be more fun to play dumb. "What won't work?"

"What you're doing. Here's a tip before I toss you around like a rag doll. You can't stick to my back with chakra." The toad lifted his brow. "And plus you're doing it wrong."

The blonde put an ignorant finger to his chin. "Oh am I? Why don't I just try and see what happens." He sat down and stuck his hand out. "God Eater."

The toad heard the boy say something, but couldn't quite catch it. "What was…?" Suddenly the giant summon slammed into the ground as an oppressive force enveloped his entire body. "What… the hell…?"

"That would be me." Naruto said as he made his way towards the toad's snout with God Eater in hand. He made sure to use his chakra to evenly disperse the fifty thousand pounds around Gamabunta's body so he didn't accidentally put too much weight in one place.

"You?" The toad choked out.

Naruto patted his stomach. "Yeah. I think I've been putting on weight recently. Can you tell?" He said in a fake sweet voice as he stuck his stomach out and patted it.

The toad growled in anger. "It takes more than…" He said as he struggled to get up. "a little fat kid to keep me down!" The boss summon defiantly stood onto his webbed hands and feet without too much trouble. Fifty thousand pounds was a lot of weight, but not enough to keep down a summon of his caliber.

Naruto sighed and threw his massive sword over his shoulder. "Just admit that I'm your summoner and I'll stop."

"No!" The toad yelled.

"Okay suit yourself."

Naruto jumped slightly into the air, but in that small moment he could see the look of fear in the toad's eyes. As Naruto's feet connected with the summon's head, the giant toad chief slammed into the ground again.

Naruto sat down on Gamabunta's snout. "So let's see. I jumped .15 meters in the air just now. Since gravity is at a constant 9.8 meters per second squared that means I was in the air for about .34 seconds and only .17 of those seconds were a gain in velocity. So I was going 1.715 meters per second when I hit you."

The toad being crushed could only marvel at the boy doing the crushing.

Naruto put a finger to his chin. "With a mass of about 22680 kilograms that made my momentum at impact 38895.5 newton-seconds." Naruto let out a long impressed whistle. "You toads sure can take a hit."

"What… are you?" The toad choked out.

Naruto smiled. "I'm just a kid looking for a summoning." Gamabunta didn't say anything for a minute so Naruto stood back up. "I wonder what would happen if I jumped a whole meter in the air? I could probably smash you into fish paste!" He said excitedly.

"NO!" The toad grumbled. "No. I got the hint. You're my summoner. Now get the hell off of me!" Not only was the toad very confused, but he was also quite humbled. No human ever had the power to actually crush him since he had been a tadpole. He was about to give the boy some respect, but then Naruto opened his mouth again.

"Owie owie owie! I hate having to think too much. It makes my head hurt." The blonde said as he dismissed his giant sword and rubbed his temples.

"I can't believe the kids these days…" The toad grumbled to himself. "However… this boy has potential." Naruto slipped on the slimy skin of the toad and fell onto his butt. "Well… with the right training of course." He deadpanned.

**Chapter 7 is a wrap!**

**Love ya and I hope you all had happy holidays and wonderful New Year's!**

**Bee tee dubya I love me some reviews ;)**


	8. Tricked you Neji!

**Don't own anything.**

**Yo everyone. Just letting you all know that it may be a little spaced out between chapters. Not much time for writing as I'd like right now, but I'm definitely not done with this story. Frankly, I love the damn thing.**

**I want to thank those that have given me suggestions for swords. I haven't made any final decisions, but because of that I watched all of Fate Stay Night. I threw in a little something during this chapter for my fellow Archer fans .**

**Also, your reviews are what keep me going! You guys are the best for real. If it wasn't for you I would never even write anything so thanks.**

**Anyways, here's chappy 8!**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

Momochi Zabuza has been called a demon in the past, and as such he has done as demons do. He has scoured the earth.

On his travels (scouring) he has seen many... odd things. One time he fought a shinobi who broke his own dick off and used it as a projectile. Another time he saw a fully grown adult woman make love to a horse, but he only watched to say that he did and not because he enjoyed it of course. He wasn't a creep, just a curious dude.

But now he was faced with one of the weirdest things he had ever seen in his life. And it had all started so simply. Just a little off handed joke made during small talk with his student as they took a break from training.

Naruto told him he had been having some funny urges lately. He had been having urges to... experiment. Naturally, Zabuza got weirded out and tried to smack some sense into the kid, but it all turned out to be a misunderstanding.

Naruto literally just wanted to experiment. To create things, to run tests, to maybe defy a law or two of nature, which was just as weird as anything he had heard the boy say before so the blue clad man didn't really think anything of it.

Zabuza quirked an eyebrow at the kid and laughed in his face. For all that he knew the gaki was just a goofball idiot that had an unbelievable proficiency with swords. Not a scientist by any means.

Zabuza should have known to run when a boy who openly defies physics on a daily basis says he wants to experiment. But instead he made an off handed comment that he never thought would matter.

"I'll believe you'll invent something worthwhile when pigs can fly!"

Now here Zabuza was, not more than two weeks later and the same student he laughed at was standing in front of him. In one hand he held a sleeping piglet and in the other... a syringe.

Naruto held the shot out in front of him with emphasis and 'hmphed' at his sensei before poking the pig in the hind quarters and injecting the substance it held into the little porker's bloodstream. And then the blonde kid just... let go of the piglet. Only, instead of hitting the floor like nature intended it to, the future ham sandwich just floated in place.

"Now hear me out!" Naruto said with his arms up in defense. "I know it's not flying yet." He said as he poked the pig with a careful finger and it slowly listed forward. "It's kind of just floating, but soon he will soar through the clouds like an eagle!" The excitement in Naruto's eyes nearly blinded his sensei.

Zabuza did what any ninja would do when he saw something like that. He screamed 'Kai!' for dear life and tried to dispel the genjutsu he thought he was under. He even shoved a kunai into his leg as a second attempt, thinking the first time was a fluke. But the pig never moved and inch from its spot in the air and all he got was blood on his pants.

Haku came over and lit up at the sight of the cute little piglet floating midair.

"He's so adorable!" The ice ninja screamed as he reached to pet the pink anti-gravity porker.

"Ah I wouldn't do that Haku." Naruto said as he held the syringe close to his face and eyed the small contents remaining. "I think this batch of serum also causes them to shoot acid from their snouts."

Almost on cue the piglet let out a cute sneeze and covered Zabuza's unwounded leg with a green slime that began to steam and hiss as it ate away at the cloth.

"Uh Zabuza-sensei?"

The dumbfounded jonin turned his head slightly and cast a blank look at the blonde. "Huh?"

Naruto pointed down at the corroding leg of his teacher. "You should really wash that off with some soap that has a high pH... immediately."

Zabuza furrowed his brow and look down. "Ahhhhh!" He yelled as he ran to the nearest source of water to save what was left of the skin on his thigh.

The blonde boy pulled out a tape recorder as he watched his teacher run back and forth through the training ground in a panic. "Anti-gravity serum 52-B has caused the same effects as its previous counterparts including the formation of acidic mucosal membranes. Upon expulsion of the acid, instant denaturing of proteins occurred in the skin of Momochi Zabuza."

"I hate you Gaki!" The tall ex-Mist jonin said as he used a water jutsu to wash his burn while he ran to the nearest stream.

"Rinse thoroughly!" Naruto yelled to the retreating form of his sensei before returning to his tape recorder. "I hypothesize the acidic qualities of this batch have increased slightly or the subject is just a wimp. Further testing will need to be conducted to find out which."

A loud yell in the distance made Naruto laugh. "Upon further testing I have found the subject is just a wimp." With the final note he pushed stop and put the recorder back into a pouch on his back.

Since he started doing these experiments he found it's much easier to keep his thoughts organized if he noted them so he bought himself an easy to carry recorder for occasions just like these. He may have an eidetic memory to help him, but that only worked while either Ino or Sakura was around.

That reminded him. He should probably do an experiment on himself and find out exactly why he needs one of the two girls near him in order to activate his photographic memory. He pulled out the recorder once more. "Note to self: Start memory experiment to determine possible links between Ino-chan, Sakura-chan, and my cognitive functions."

He put the recorder back again and rubbed his temples as pain shot through his head. "Every time I think too hard I get a fucking headache. Damn silver haired bastard giving me a goddamn vocabulary."

Naruto wasn't under any delusions. He knew that the reason he had become so engrossed in experiments lately was because of Sephiroth. The silver haired man had become much more… pliant in the past few weeks and had even been offering advice. Naruto ignored it out of spite of course.

The jinchuuriki had to make sure to keep an eye on the crafty bastard. He was up to something, but the blonde just didn't know what yet. And just in case Sephiroth tried to pull something, Kyuubi and Gilgamesh were acting as two damned good self imposed watchdogs.

Naruto broke out of his thoughts and turned to find Haku petting the airborne baby pig. He chuckled as he watched the effeminate boy obviously taking care to avoid the acid shooting snout. "What's his name?" The ice user asked like a fangirl that found her newest love interest.

Naruto gave him a huge smile. "Admiral Oink... the destroyer of worlds."

***No piglets were harmed in the making of this chapter.**

(Line break)

The pig incident was one week earlier and it was now only one day until the chuunin exams. Naruto showed up right on time just as he has for the past month to do his daily training with the mist duo. The schedule was, sword training and conditioning in the morning with Haku and Zabuza, then the evenings were free for chakra and summon training with Jiraiya.

The demon of the mist stood patiently as the blonde approached him with a smile. "Hey Zabuza sensei! What am I going to learn today?"

"Nothing." The demon sneered as he rubbed his still sore leg. "Jiraiya and I both decided today is a rest day. You need prepare for tomorrow by taking a load off."

Naruto frowned. "That's no fun."

"Well tough shit."

Naruto sighed and shrugged. "I guess that just leaves more time for experiments."

Zabuza looked down at the boy and shivered. He had the creepiest mad scientist smile he had ever seen. It was a mix of excitement, brilliance, and total insanity.

"Yes. I think it's time to begin the sealing tests." He chuckled darkly.

The jonin didn't know exactly what Naruto meant by that, but he did know what it assuredly entailed. Massive property damage to Konoha and the surrounding wildlife. But he knew there was no way he could stop the little insane brat from conducting his crazy tests so he just sighed and rubbed his neck.

"Whatever. Just keep away from me until you're done. I don't want a repeat of last week."

Naruto doesn't usually get into the 'experiment' mood, but when he does he is a force to be reckoned with. Most of the time he's the same old Naruto. Carefree and crazy. But when something interests him he stops being carefree/crazy and becomes focused/crazy.

That was the very thing Zabuza wanted to avoid. A curious Naruto.

"I told you I was sorry!"

"Sorry doesn't cut it! Now every time I smell a porkchop my burn wound stings!"

"It'll only be temporary!"

"I'm going to make you temporary you little brat!" Zabuza reached down to grab the kid for a good strangling, but the blonde was wily. He escaped and, since running made the pig burn act up, Zabuza just decided to turn back home so he could apply the ointment to his leg again.

"I hate scientists."

(line break)

Naruto escaped his sensei, but now he was bored. He didn't really want to start the tests he had planned yet because he tended to lose track of time once he started a new experiment and he was afraid he may work so long that he would entirely miss the exam the next day.

_'I wonder what Sakura-chan and Ino-chan are up to?'_

He hadn't seen his two favorite girls in the past month at all. Naruto wasn't trying to avoid them by any means, but all the training he had to do took most of his time and he figured it was a good idea to concentrate on winning his match. But now that he finally got some time to relax he realized how much he missed them. Even the beatings he got from Sakura seemed nice at the moment. Not preferred, but nice.

However, finding the two was proving to be a chore. He started by trying to find Sakura, but she wasn't home so he decided to go to Ino's house, only to find she wasn't home either. It wasn't until he stopped into the Yamanaka flower shop to see if Ino was working that he found out that the two girls were off training somewhere together. He even got to meet Ino's mother while he was there. Nice lady and pretty to boot. Ino was definitely going to grow up to become a looker, not that she wasn't already.

He checked a few training grounds for the girls, but honestly he didn't know where to start. So he did what he always does when things bore him… he gave up.

"Eh I'll find them later. I'm starving anyways." He said to himself as his stomach growled. "Ichiraku's here I come!"

But he had this nagging feeling in the back of his head that told him if he didn't keep looking he was going to miss something absolutely spectacular. "Okay. I'll check one more place, but if they're not there then its ramen time." The statement seemed to appease the pesky sensation that was making him antsy. "Whatever I find better be worth it."

He really didn't have any idea how very happy he was about to become.

(Line break)

"And there we go." Sakura said as she leveled her feet out over the surface of a slow moving river.

"Why are we doing this again?" Ino asked as she slowly trodded across the top layer of water over to Sakura.

"Chakra control." The pinkette said as she began to go through a few of the kata she learned in the academy. "Chakra building." She said as she felt the strain of using her chakra on top of the water beginning to take its toll. "And strength training."

A short while ago they decided to add weights to their regimen. Just a few pounds, but they make a huge difference after a full day of training.

"I didn't mean that. I meant why are we training today? We've been out here every day for the past month. Let's hit the bath house and relax or something." Ino half whined to her friend.

Sakura stopped her kata to smirk at Ino. "Fine. You go ahead and relax. Then when I kick your ass in front of Naruto he'll know who the better kunoichi is."

Ino huffed. "Ah come on Forehead. It's not good to over train you know. Just because Naruto-kun doesn't run out of fuel doesn't mean we don't."

Sakura dipped her head. "I wonder where he is now." She said curiously.

Ino walked over and stood next to her friend. "He's been training for a month straight just like us. I'm so excited to see him tomorrow! Aren't you? I bet you he's all kinds of strong now."

"Yeah!" Sakura said as she clamped her fist in front of her. "And he's going to kick Neji's ass no problem!"

"That's the spirit!" Ino said as she hopped behind Sakura and clamped her hands on to her shoulders. "Now why don't we grab a bite to eat and hit the hot springs? Have some relaxing girl time? Maybe even hit the spa so we can look our sexiest for Naruto-kun later?" She suggested into the pinkette's ear as her hands began to slowly massage Sakura's shoulders. The blonde was hoping that by giving her a little taste of relaxation she might want the whole package.

Sakura melted as Ino's chakra infused hands worked magic into her sore muscles. The training over the past month had been very rigorous and, at the moment, Ino's silky pushes and pulls felt like heaven on her overburdened body. "Ahhh." She groaned as she slowly leaned her head back to lie between the crook of Ino's neck and shoulder.

A tingle ran down the blonde girl's spine as Sakura's soft pink hair gently rubbed against her neck. A very, VERY odd tingle. It was so odd that Ino had to rest for a moment to catch her breath.

"Don't stop." Sakura purred in her slight euphoric state, begging the masseuse to continue.

Ino grew a little warm at her friend's subdued voice, but she continued with her ministrations. "So what do you say? Let's get out of here." She whispered as her hands grazed their way down Sakura's back earning a small moan from the girl.

Sakura turned around with half lidded eyes and a small smile so she could nod dumbly to a red faced Ino. "Yeah. Let's…" She cut herself off to quirk an eyebrow in confusion.

"What?" Ino said as she turned to look behind her. _'What could be so..._ _Oh haha._ '

Naruto stood as stiff as a board staring at the two girls. His eyes were glistening with happiness as he sported a blush so strong it probably covered his entire body. He sighed contentedly before falling flat on his face. "So... hot." They heard him mutter just before he passed out in bliss. '_Definitely worth it.'_

The kunoichi duo scoffed simultaneously. "You know, for a guy who says he doesn't like perverts, he's pretty damn perverted." Sakura deadpanned.

"To be fair, you were moaning like you put out to rut." The blonde girl laughed as she walked off of the river and went to pick up her cute sleeping love. "And you're dressed the part too."

Sakura looked down at her skimpy training clothes. It was just some short shorts and a tight tank top. "Whatever! It's a hot day and I had no plan to do anything but physical training so it's not like I need my gear on. And you talk about my clothes like they're so bad when you're wearing the same thing. " Sakura said as she took out a canteen of water and walked over to Naruto's still prone body. "Plus, you were the one rubbing on me like I was your personal sex doll!"

"That's the thanks I get for the amazing massage I just gave you?" The pinkette looked at her blankly so Ino got back to attending to the object of their collective affections. "I'm not going to lie, I think I like having this power over him." Ino chuckled and Sakura nodded in agreement. "I mean look at him! We got him so flustered that he passed out!"

They looked down at the boy lying between them and noticed he had yet again gone through more physical changes in the last month. It was nothing major like a whole new appendage or anything, but still noticeable. His once slightly pale blonde hair had become so light that it was beginning to develop a silver sheen to it and its previous wild nature had been replaced by a more tamed look except for his gravity defying bangs that seemed to dangle in front of his face and down over his collar.

They heard a small chuckle come from the boy who was supposed to be unconscious. The girls look at each other and sighed. "Little liar." Ino said as she took the canteen out of Sakura's hand and dumped it on Naruto's face.

He sputtered and flailed around for a second before looking up into the blue and green eyes of the killer kunoichi. "Oh hey Ino-chan, Sakura-chan. How's it going?" He said nervously.

They looked at each other for a second before nodding to each other. It seemed Naruto needed to cool off so they were going to assist him in that. Ino grabbed his left arm and Sakura grabbed his right before they began to drag him towards the river they had been training on. "Would it help if I told you I was serious when I said it was hot?" Naruto said meekly.

"Kind of makes it worse." Sakura said as she drug Naruto to the water, while she slipped out of her shoes.

"I think it helps a little." Ino laughed as she removed her shoes while she walked just as Sakura did.

The girls put chakra into their feet and walked out over the surface of the water with Naruto in tow. When they were a fair distance in they released their hold on the blonde boy a let him fall in.

Instead of a splash, which would signify their victory and Naruto's wetness, they didn't hear much of anything. It was because the blonde boy had joined them in standing on the water. The kunoichi frowned when they saw Naruto must have done some chakra control training in the past month, but they really should have figured that he would have that exercise down by now. Oh well, they could always just tackle him into the water. It would be more fun that way anyways.

He saw the mischievous looks in their eyes and held his hands up worriedly. "Just a sec!" He said as he whipped his cape off and threw it all the way over to the shore. He didn't want to get the thing wet. It takes forever to dry. "Alright then." He waved them on and they pounced in an instant.

The genin played around in the water for at least two hours before stopping. They splashed, laughed, and relaxed as much as they could. Naruto even created a shadow clone so they could get in chicken fights.

Sakura's competitive nature took over when Ino got a little grabby with Naruto. It basically ended with the blonde boy nearly being pulled into two pieces, but overall he was happy for the attention. He was so cheerful when he was with them he almost didn't understand it. It was more than conventional friendship, but that was all he realized for now.

He obviously understood that looking at their wet, glistening bodies in the sunlight made him warm for a good reason-he did have a health class after all. Just as their amount of comfort with his presence made him smile. Lots of other people didn't really like to be around him. Even strangers tended to give him a pretty wide berth, but Ino and Sakura were happy to spend time with him. They even seemed happy to touch him and relaxed enough to let him touch them back (in a non-sexual way of course).

Whatever their reasons were for being his friend, he was just ecstatic they were.

After they exited the river, they found there was already a picnic area set up for them. The kunoichi looked at Naruto in question to see him smiling back. "Clones." Solid bunshins made everyday chores so much easier.

The girls nodded in understanding and rushed over their packs to towel off first. From there they all had a pleasant late lunch/almost dinner of ramen that the clone picked up from Ichiraku's. Sakura sighed at Naruto's one track pallet. The same thing every day sounded horrid, but it appeared Naruto was happy with his monotony. That was just another one of his thousand quirks that she had begun to find comfort in.

"Ahhh delicious." Naruto patted his belly happily as he scooted his final bowl of brothy goodness off to the side. Thirteen bowls wasn't too many right?

Ino and Sakura moved their second bowl off of the blanket they were on and stretched out across the plaid material. "It taste's even better when you don't have it every single day." The pinkette said with a yawn. All that food was making her tired.

"That's blasphemy." Naruto chuckled as he laid down between Ino and Sakura.

"Heretic Sakura, you are hereby charged to eat only ramen for the rest of your life!" Ino cut in as she closed the space between herself and Naruto. She could feel the toll of their large meal taking its effect on her as she yawned.

Sakura made a 'blech' sound and settled a little closer to the jinchuuriki, just close enough to capture his hand. Ino saw her friend's bravery and decided to make her own effort. She caught his other hand and rolled over it so she was laying her head across his shoulder and his arm had her wrapped up. Of course, Sakura huffed and did the same thing.

Now the girls were comfortable as they snuggled into the blonde boy's chest and laid happy hands on his stomach, but Naruto on the other hand, was not. He was stiff as a board and unrelaxed as the kunoichi began to close their eyes and drift away into sleep with no problem. The attention was welcome, but the proximity was frightening.

They had both taken his hands and put them on their scantily clad hips so carelessly that they probably didn't think anything of it, but they didn't know Naruto had never touched a girl there before and he had definitely never slept with one girl let alone two.

It was a small wish of his to be lying next to them like this, but when dreams come true people don't always act as cool as they thought they would. Other guys would boast about it, but Naruto was just frightened he might disturb the sleeping beauties. However, they seemed very comfortable as they pulled themselves as close as they could to him and moaned slightly in content.

Naruto closed his eyes to join them. He was thinking too much again. When a good situation like this comes by he should just go with the flow and stop being such a worrier.

The sun was warm, but he wrapped them all in his wing like a blanket in case it cooled at all. They looked like something out of dream as their soft breaths gently batted against his neck. Naruto pulled them both towards him a bit and leaned his head back into the plaid blanket to allow the sandman to claim him. Within a few moments, he joined the women he held in the peaceful bliss of sleep.

(line break)

Sakura was the first one to wake up. She lifted her head to see the sun was already beginning to set and wondered how long she had been laying there. Especially since she didn't really remember falling asleep. But she was just so comfortable she didn't want to get up at all! Still, it was time.

The pinkette went to pull her hair out of her eyes, but found that her hand was bound by something. She peered under the wing that was covering them to see her fingers were interlaced with Ino's as they laid on top of the jinchuuriki's sternum. _'When did that happen?'_

She unlocked their hands, but it caused Ino to shiver into the realm of the conscious. The sultry blonde girl rubbed the sleep out of her bright blue eyes and brushed her hair back before cuddling up to Naruto again by draping a leg over him.

Sakura was surprisingly not as mad as she thought she would be when she saw Ino lay across her man. Instead of the usual angry or violent response, the pinkette decided to just lay her hand down on Naruto's cheek and lightly rub his whisker scars. She was too tired to fight and Naruto looked to adorable for her to just ignore it.

Sakura's actions, or lack thereof, didn't go unnoticed by Ino, but was not questioned either. She honestly didn't mind waking up next to both of them. It felt good to have them near when she opened her eyes. It was an odd feeling to have, but then again Sakura is her best friend and Naruto is the man she was just dreaming about so she didn't see anything wrong with the situation.

Ino watched curiously as Sakura gently played with Naruto's cheeks; gradually bringing her face closer and closer to his. _'What is she doing?'_

The pinkette slowly closed the distance between her lips and the sleeping Naruto's cheek as Ino watched with interest. The soft, glistening pink lips nervously pressed against the flesh of the blonde boy's jaw as Sakura shut her eyes and leaned into her action.

After a few short seconds she pulled away and Naruto began to stir.

Ino smiled at the scene she just saw play out. _'She's getting some balls huh?_ _Looks like this just got a little more difficult.'_ Her thoughts were cut off as she heard the tired voice of her sleeping companion.

"Sakura-chan? Ino-chan?" Naruto said as he looked down at the two girls. He moved his wing away and saw that his hands were placed in perilous places so he decided to remove them as fast as possible as to not incur any wrath from the kunoichi. Although, with the way they were wrapped around him he didn't really have any choice as to where he put them. Plus, their positioning was more questionable than his. They were practically using him as a mattress!

"Hey there sleepy head." Ino said with a smile to the boy. Sakura blushed brightly, but remained silent as she realized Naruto may have woken up as she kissed him.

The blonde boy looked at the setting sun in the horizon and lifted himself into a sitting position with the two girls. "How long were we out? Must have been a while."

"We've all been training really hard this past month. Can you blame us for taking a little cat nap?" Ino said seductively.

Naruto blushed and looked away. "I suppose you're right. I've been running on less than four hours a night for a while now. It felt good to relax."

"We should do it more often." The blonde girl said with sexy smile. "Isn't that right Sakura?"

Naruto and Ino turned their heads to see Sakura sputter out a weak response. "Well I... umm."

The mind walker quirked an eyebrow at her friends non-answer. _'Well that was odd.'_ Ino thought to herself. _'I expected a flat-out no. Maybe even an over exaggerated violent response, but not that.'_

Naruto stood up and collected the things around the picnic site. "I'm sorry, but I have to get a few things ready before tomorrow's matches." He said as he picked up the basket he had brought. "Will I see you at the arena?"

"Of course Naruto-kun!" Ino said as she wrapped an arm around Sakura's neck and brought her closer. "We'll cheer for you louder than anyone!"

Sakura pulled Ino's arm off of her and smiled. "We believe in you Naruto. I know you'll do great."

He gave them the carefree grin that only he could do. "Thanks you guys! Don't worry about me!" He said as he poked himself in the chest with his thumb. "I'll kick Neji's ass in no time and then I'll take us out to Ichiraku's to celebrate!"

"No." The kunoichi both deadpanned.

"You'll take me somewhere nice!" Sakura said with a closed fist that threatened punishment.

"He'll take US somewhere nice." Ino said as she locked eyes with the pinkette.

Sakura's hand went slack and she just stared into Ino's eyes for a moment before turning back to Naruto. "You'll take... us somewhere nice."

Again Ino had to quirk an eyebrow. '_That wasn't even a fight at all. What the hell is going on with her?_'

Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head and slightly ignored the exchange between the girls. "Of course. Somewhere nice." What does he know about nice restaurants? Maybe if he could find a really good...

"Not ramen."

He paused for a moment of sadness as his thoughts were shot down. "Not ramen." Naruto agreed forlornly as he picked up his cloak and flung it over his torso. He flashed them a quick smile. "I'll find something great! See you guys tomorrow!"

The blonde girl was a little upset he left before she could give him a proper goodbye. You know; the kind of goodbye that would REALLY piss Sakura off. Once he was out of eyesight Ino put her hands over her head and stretched out the last bit of sleep she had in her muscles. "I don't think I've ever slept that well."

Sakura turned her head away from the direction Naruto left to look at Ino. "Yeah, me either."

Ino started putting her things back into her pack. "You see he was still wearing the cloak?"

"He had it on a lot less than usual though. Pretty soon he'll probably get rid of it all together." Sakura said as she joined Ino in packing up their stuff.

"Maybe." Ino said plainly. "Hey! Why don't we go to the spa now? We can get ready for our date with Naruto-kun tomorrow." The blonde said with a smile as she jumped behind Sakura and began to push her towards town. "And we need to get new clothes too!"

Sakura shirked her blonde friend off and huffed. "Fine! Stop pushing!"

(line break)

**The next morning**

Naruto lowered his head as he placed his hand against the giant wooden doors of the arena. From his spot he could hear the crowd roaring for a fight on the other side. They were cheering for their villages and their friends, but what they were really looking for was a cheap thrill.

"Time to give them what they want." He said from behind the raised collar of his cloak.

He was prepared for anything. After he left Ino and Sakura he spent most of the night gathering his tools and plotting out any scenarios that he may have to go through. He knew his first fight was Neji, but who would it be after that? Gaara? Temari? Or maybe even Sasuke? It didn't matter in the end because he was ready to kick some serious ass.

As the wooden doors creaked open he instantly felt that refreshing sensation he gets whenever Ino and Sakura are near. With no trouble at all he pinpointed the two girls sitting at the far side of the stadium. They were sitting next to each other and popped out of their seats in excitement when he caught their eye. He lightly noted that his photographic memory kicked in full force once he felt them near. '_Even at this distance they have an effect on me.'_ They waved. He waved and smiled. They swooned. The usual.

Naruto wasn't actually late, but he cut it pretty damn close. He jumped over a rail to stand next to the rest of the competitors. Everyone was there except Sasuke. _'I wonder where he is?'_ Naruto definitely wasn't worried or anything. Sasuke was a big boy and he could handle himself, but that didn't prevent Naruto from showing a little concern for his teammate.

A clearing of a throat disrupted Naruto's thoughts. The Hokage was about to give them the traditional welcome and thanks they expect for coming to Konoha and he will probably end it with something about unity between the ninja nations.

Booooooooring. It took a lot to keep the attention of the number one hyperactive ninja so he tuned the old guy out in a matter of seconds. He looked around the stadium quickly before putting his head down and staring at the ground. He pouted as he saw his red cloak had a gash in it near his leg. It was all, but ruined. He put his hand through the large hole and sighed. _'There goes a perfectly good cloak. I shouldn't have trained in this thing for the last month.'_ He said as he gripped the fabric in his fingers.

"… and Uzumaki Naruto. Please make your way to the center of the arena."

Naruto popped his head up when he heard his name. _'They're already calling me? How long did I zone out?'_ He chuckled to himself.

Neji was already down in the center of the ring waiting. He was tapping his foot like an impatient baby.

"Okay hold your horses." Naruto said as he looked down at the proctor.

The blonde boy examined his torn cloak again. _'Well it's ruined anyways._' He said to himself as he firmly gripped it down to his sides. With one easy sweep his wing burst through the back of the cloak and tore it off just below his shoulder leaving just a small amount of fabric left hanging off of his neck. The red collar was still intact and covering his jaw, but besides that everything was left bare for the audience.

(line break)

A collective gasp hit the spectators and competitors alike when he revealed what he had been hiding. Sarutobi shook his head when he saw what the blonde boy did. _'You were supposed to tell me when you were going to do this Naruto. Now I'm going to have to deal with…'_

"Sarutobi what is that?" The Hokage winced as he heard the shrill voice of his fellow council member Koharu.

"Ugh…" He stuttered.

"Why does that boy appear to have grown a wing since I saw him last?" The other elder Homura asked as he adjusted his glasses. The two appeared within seconds of each other to question the man they knew held the answers.

"It's a…umm… bloodline!" The old man said quickly and loudly.

The two other elders narrowed their eyes. "A bloodline you say…"

"Yes. Very recently attained." It wasn't a great cover story, but they had no proof to say otherwise and that was all the advantage he needed. Plus, who's going to guess the truth?

They looked at their old friend in disbelief, but shrugged it off. "Very well then. I will begin the preparations after the matches." Homura said as he walked away.

"Preparations?" Hiruzen stopped him with a question.

"Yes. He has a new bloodline and it must be conserved. You know this Sarutobi."

The Hokage paled. He may have just accidentally thrown Naruto to the wolves. Not the kind of wolves that will eat you, but the kind of wolves that want you to procreate with anything that moves so they could have more of you running around. The ones that want to eat you are actually much more pleasant. "He has absolutely no idea about the laws. He must be informed before any decisions are made."

The two sighed in exasperation. "Fine. We will leave that to you and a formal meeting will be set later." Koharu said as she joined Homura by the door. With a nod the two meddling elders were gone just as fast as they came.

The remaining old man turned towards Naruto's match and put his face in his hands. "I think… I might have just picked a whole bouquet of oopsie-daisies."

(line break)

Naruto threw what was left of his crimson cloak off to the side and hopped over the railing, leaving an interested Shikamaru. And an interested Shikamaru is dangerous. He might as well just tell the pineapple head the truth because lying to him is nearly impossible. He may appear socially inept, but he understands human nature quite well.

He used his wing to slowly glide down to the arena and the murmurs of the crowd grew even larger. He ignored them as he quietly landed face to face with his opponent. Naruto's bright cerulean eyes locked with Neji's pale lavender and the two squared off for a glaring contest.

As the Hyuga stared his opponent down, he took in the appearance of the wing with great detail. He had already seen it the month before when he fought Hinata. When he activated his byakugan it let him see through the cloak, but to see it up close was something else. It was almost a little intimidating.

Neji didn't have much time to analyze his challenger as their staring match was broken almost instantly by a loudmouth.

"Hey Naruto!"

The blonde boy turned to the audience to see Kiba giving him the middle finger.

"Fuck you!" The brown haired boy yelled as he laughed and pointed.

Naruto growled and clenched his fist. He almost forgot what he had done to the dog boy the month before. It looked like he's still a little sore about it. "Don't make me come up there and kick your ass again Kiba!"

"What are you gonna do! Henge into my mom again? Cross dresser!" His puppy yipped along with him. It sounded like the mutt actually laughed with his master.

Naruto was about to jump into the stands and sodomize Kiba using Akamaru, but he was cut off by the proctor Genma.

"Going into the stands now means you forfeit." The senbon chewing jonin said lazily.

Naruto huffed in annoyance, but turned back to the almost fight. "Fine, but I'm going to kick his ass as soon as I'm done with Neji."

The lavender eyed boy narrowed his eyes at the insult. "You presume too much. You are destined to lose to me. "

Naruto smirked. "Predestined to lose huh?" He said as he stretched his back to get ready. "Good. I can't wait to wipe the floor with you and knock you off that pedestal."

"Struggling against me is useless. You should just forfeit now and save yourself the embarrassment."

Naruto ignored Neji's taunt and instead peered into the audience to see a pale lavender eyed girl staring back at him. The cute young kunoichi blushed tried to cover her face. "I'm going to guess that you won't apologize to Hinata-chan?" He asked without looking back at Neji.

The prodigy stood still without saying anything.

"I kinda figured that's what your response would be." He glanced over to Genma. "I'm ready proctor-san."

The lazy looking jonin took the senbon out of his mouth slowly and raised his hand. "Then… BEGIN!" He yelled as he lowered his hand and jumped back to escape the fight.

Neji instantly activated his byakugan and jumped into his family's stance to prepare for an attack. "Don't think your tricks will work on me. I'm not as weak minded as the Inuzuka."

Naruto snorted. "Tricks? Why, that hurts me." He said as he put a mock hand to his chest before crossing his fingers together in front of himself. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Neji counted fifty Naruto's as they poofed into existence. _'Fifty solid clones with even chakra distribution? I can't tell which one is the original.'_ He settled deeper into his stance to fight the army.

"Alright!" A single Naruto came out of the crowd with a pointy, neon orange hat on his head. "Single file line. Hop to!" He yelled.

Neji watched in confusion as the clones pushed and scuffled their way into a disordered line with some even tripping the others so they could have a better place towards the front. The Naruto wearing the pointy hat stayed at the top order of the line and looked down the row of matching blondes to make sure they were ready. A few stragglers wouldn't sit still and a couple of Naruto's were shoving each other, but overall they were as ready as they were going to be.

Once there was order he lifted his hand. "Go number 1!" He said as he threw his hand down towards Neji.

The clone in the front of the line rushed at the Hyuga and tried to land and ax kick onto his head. Neji had no problem side stepping and striking the clone where its heart resided causing it to smoke out of existence.

The pale boy smirked at the ease of destroying the clone. It was like tearing a piece of paper.

The next clone stepped up and readied himself as Neji contemplated rushing the entire group to destroy it. The leading Naruto raised his hand to give the attack order, but was cut off when one of the clones spoke up.

"Hey he cut me!" One clone yelled at another about halfway back in the line.

"No I didn't!" The other spoke.

"Yes you did!" The other one yelled as he jabbed a pointer finger into his doppelganger's chest.

"That's bullshit you liar!"

One clone swung at his mirror image who, in turn, ducked and tackled him. The two began a wrestling match in the middle of the arena leaving a stunned Neji and a crowd of hooting Naruto's.

The line of blonde's broke into pieces and reformed into a circle around the fighting clones. The only angry Naruto was the one with the pointy hat yelling 'respect the hat' over and over as he tried to break the two up. Another clone came by and swiftly stole the neon orange head piece off of the (ex) leader and ran away giggling.

One of the Naruto's who made up the circle bumped into a fellow clone and started yet another fight. And that fight led to another and another until a resounding howl of 'MUTINY!' caused the entire army of blondes to go berserk and fight with each other. Every Naruto was paired off in a one-on-one match against each its mirror image.

Neji had long abandoned his stance to gape at the spectacle before him. He had become so confused his byakugan had even faltered for a moment. _'How… how stupid is this boy?'_

The entire crowd of bystanders, including Ino and Sakura were flabbergasted as well. "What is Naruto(kun) doing?" The girls asked each other.

"That's it!" One of the fighting blonde boys yelled. "Kai!"

In an instant every Naruto, but one poofed away. "Those bastards were absolutely no help." The remaining jinchuuriki said to himself. "Useless clone assholes."

Neji quickly remembered he was still mid-match and moved back into his stance. _'I can't afford any more distractions.'_ He thought as he prepared to finish Naruto. _'I will crush him._'

Neji's hands infused with chakra as he crouched down to break into a sprint towards his target. However, just before he was about to take his first step he halted to find Naruto had already made the first move.

Naruto ran straight at Neji full speed for what seemed to be a taijutsu match. It seemed the boy was blindly rushing in to receive his fate. Probably the dumbest thing anyone could ever do to a Hyuga was test them in hand to hand combat. It was just about akin to committing suicide, but it appeared that was Naruto's plan.

Hinata flinched in worry for what was about to happen to her crush. Sakura and Ino jerked in excitement for what their man was going to do. And Kiba laughed his ass off for what looked like the stupidest idea ever.

Naruto, on the other hand, gladly closed the distance between himself and his prey.

Neji prepared to shift his feet to attack Naruto the second he threw some wild punch or kick that was sure to come, but when the dark haired boy went to move he found his feet were locked. He used his byakugan to look down (without actually looking down) and saw that two hands had popped out of the ground and were firmly clasped around his ankles. _'Damn! He dug under me!'_

Two more clones burst out of the ground on either side of Neji and held both of his arms in place as the clone holding his ankles shoved Neji's feet together to throw him off balance.

The real Naruto smirked as he cocked his fist back to destroy Neji with a punch. "Tricked ya." He said before unleashing the strongest haymaker he could to the side of the Hyuga's cheek.

Neji watched the fist barreling towards his face. _'I can't believe he was able to distract me with that pathetic show earlier.'_ He mentally scolded himself. _'And I can't believe I have to resort to this already.'_

Unfortunately for Naruto, Neji was nowhere near finished.

The fist that was supposed to obliterate Neji was stopped just short of reaching its target. _'What?'_

"KAI…" Neji angrily yelled as the clones holding him were blasted away. "…TEN!" The Hyuga showed everyone why he was a prodigy by expelling chakra from every possible outlet in his body and spinning to create an impenetrable glowing barrier of chakra. It was the pinnacle of the gentle fist.

It was a technique that left every person in shock, but more than that it left every Hyuga completely floored. He was the youngest known person to have ever been able to reach that level. The ability was passed down only by spoken word to the next generation and Hyuga Hiashi wondered if he hadn't just seen someone do it and then copied it until he had it perfected, which was just unheard of.

It should be far too difficult for any genin to perform, but lo and behold Neji had done it with ease and very effectively. Naruto had been blown away without any effort and was now struggling to get up at all.

Neji noticed that the blonde was stunned and took the chance to finish him. He rushed forward and delivered blow after painful blow as he counted up the numbers of his eight trigrams sixty-four palms technique.

The first strikes left Naruto's right arm useless.

His other arm shortly followed as it too went limp from Neji's touch.

Then his legs gave out, which would have caused him to fall to the ground if Neji was done with him, but he wasn't.

The final wave of lightning fast strikes left Naruto's chakra system in total shock. Instead of the usual calm flow in a unilateral direction it felt like his system was seizing violently as it pumped back and forth.

Neji jumped back as Naruto's wing tried to take a fatal swipe at his neck. It appeared that even though the blonde's chakra was halted, his wing was a little more stubborn. It didn't matter though; it just made him look like a downed bird as he flapped around on the ground in a wasted attempt to regain his bodily functions. The damage had been done.

"This is what happens when you challenge your betters." Neji taunted as Naruto still tried to stand. "Stop fighting and forfeit. This match is over."

"My body..." Naruto choked out.

Neji lifted an eyebrow. It appeared the boy didn't understand his position. It's already over. "Your body is now useless. I've seen to it."

"My body..." Naruto stopped writhing and raised his head off of the ground in defiance to lock eyes with Neji. "... is made of swords."

Neji took a step back in amazement as he used his byakugan to see a red chakra fill Naruto's system and circulate into his tenketsu. _'He's reopening them!'_

"Iron is my blood." Naruto's hand tightened and pounded into the dirt as he strained to push himself up. "and glass is my heart."

_'H...How? How is he standing? It shouldn't be possible! No one can overcome the gentle fist!'_

"I've not once been understood." Naruto made it to his feet and put a hand gently to his heart. "In fact, this body is probably a sword itself. You can't break it no matter how hard you try!"

"Stop your rambling. This changes nothing. I will still defeat you." Neji said as he moved back into his stance. Naruto had overcome the gentle fist. What else can he do?

Naruto scoffed. "Good. I was hoping it wouldn't be that easy."

The jinchuuriki put his hand out in front of him. "Now I'm going to show you something really special." He said with a sickly sweet smile.

(line break)

Zabuza Momochi adjusted his shiny new Konoha forehead protector as he watched his latest student float into the arena to start his fight. He didn't know exactly why Naruto didn't start using his swords right away, but in the end it was his own choice. The ex-demon of the mist supposed it was a good idea to try and save your best for only when you need it. But still, it was definitely NOT a good idea to pull any punches against this Hyuga kid. He was much stronger than a genin should be.

"I see Naruto has finally come out of his shell."

Zabuza sighed as he heard the lazy voice next to him. "Hello Copy Cat." The demon murmured. "I'm glad to see you could finally make it. Where's your charge hiding? He didn't get scared of my student now did he?" He said with a deep chuckle.

It annoyed Kakashi greatly that Zabuza referred to Naruto as his own student. Naruto would forever be the one eyed jonin's student under team seven so long as Kakashi still drew breath, but he had no choice except to let Zabuza train the genin boy over the break. Sasuke was placed in a life or death situation against Gaara and really needed help to just survive his fight. Hatake vowed that he would make it up to Naruto one day with his own personal training. Sakura too. They deserved it.

Kakashi didn't take his eyes off of his porn or let slip how angry he was that Zabuza was trying to claim someone precious to him as his own. "Sasuke went home for a moment to gather some materials and change. I told him he'd be late and would probably get kicked out of the tournament, but he gave me some kind of spiel about Uchiha pride or something... I kind of just stopped listening to him. Anyways, I informed the Hokage and he pushed Sasuke's fight to the end so I guess everything worked out."

"What does his pride have to do with anything?" Zabuza questioned.

"He said something about his clothes being disrespectful... But then again I suppose showing up half naked would have caused a stir." Kakashi said as he flipped a page and sat against the wall.

Zabuza just looked at Kakashi worriedly. What the hell kind of training was he giving his student the last month that he was half naked? He better not have given Naruto any of the same 'training'!

Kakashi put his hands up in defense as he saw the unspoken accusation in Zabuza's eyes. "Whoa whoa now! Don't go getting any ideas on me here. His clothes got torn and burnt while perfecting a new jutsu. That's all… you sicko." Zabuza could tell that Kakashi was definitely laughing at him under his mask.

"Yeah right."

"I'm not gay and I'm not a pervert." Kakashi said. That earned him a glare from Zabuza. "Well I'm not gay at least." He said as he turned back to his porn. He didn't actually care what Zabuza thought, but that was one rumor he didn't want going around. Now that he thought about it again, he was very happy Sasuke is risking the chuunin exams to go change his clothes. He didn't want to ruin his chances with the ladies.

At this point of Naruto's fight he had just dispelled all of the clones he had used as a distraction to catch Neji off guard. It was a tactic that made Kakashi wonder what things he was learning from the tall ex-mist ninja next to him.

"I would question the boy if I hadn't seen him do crazier things during his training." Zabuza broke the slight silence as he watched his student pretend like he had no control over his own clones. "That kid gets the craziest ideas I've ever seen."

Kakashi was actually interested for once. "How was the training?"

"Good."

"…"

"…"

"Not going to explain what 'good' means?" Kakashi asked in a slightly annoyed voice.

Zabuza chuckled and rubbed his forehead. "I don't think I could explain it if I wanted to."

"Just an overview then." Kakashi said in a bored tone that belied his actual curiosity.

The ex-Mist ninja sat back against the wall next to Kakashi. "The kid is crazy good with swords. Calling him a prodigy probably doesn't do justice to how good he actually is. Did you know I barely taught him anything during our training sessions? It's like he comes up with everything on his own. If I didn't know better I would say somebody was teaching him besides me."

"I don't understand. What do you mean he comes up with it on his own? People don't just know how to use a weapon without practice." The one eyed jonin put his book down and broke out of the normal lazy stupor he keeps himself in.

"Well he can."

Kakshi new there was more to what Naruto can do and Zabuza wasn't giving him the full story, but it's more fun to be surprised right? He would just watch the fight and see what happened.

At this point of Naruto's fight he was attempting to stand after Neji closed his tenketsu. "There he goes again doing something that shouldn't be possible." Kakashi said as he brought himself back into his lazy state by bringing out his book. _'Reopening tenketsu. Crazy kid.'_ He thought to himself as a smile formed under his mask.

Naruto held his hand out in front of him and smirked.

"Hey Kakashi." Zabuza grinned.

"Hmm?" The silver haired man turned his head.

"Make sure you watch this." He said as he pointed to the match and chuckled. "I've got a feeling it's gonna be interesting."

Kakashi peered over his book at Naruto's fight.

Once the copy ninja saw exactly what his sensei's son was doing, his hand couldn't pull out his sharingan fast enough. Because what he saw was almost unreal. But of course, for Naruto, it was normal.

**Well there's chapter 8. I hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**The bit about Naruto's body being made of swords is from Fate Stay Night. Archer has the coolest chant ever! Also, I really feel it applies to what Naruto is going through. His body is kind of made of swords, six of them actually.**

**Up next chapter will be the very exciting conclusion of the Neji/Naruto fight and then a bit of Gaara interaction for all you redhead fans. We'll see where I go from there, but I want to expand on Naruto and Gaara's relationship with each other a little.**


	9. Time for the finale

**Don't own anything.**

**Hey everyone! Before you all read this chapter there is something I'd like to clarify on a little. I know in the manga it is never stated that Naruto is abused by the townspeople, only that he is ignored or looked upon with disdain. But for the sake of this story I'm going with the assumption that he was beaten at least a few times. That's all I wanted to say so enjoy!**

"Talking"

'_Thinking'_

"**Demon"**

'_Gilgamesh'_

"JUTSU"

"Would you like to see a magic trick?" Naruto asked Neji from his side of the arena with that ever present grin on his face; that scary kind of smile that lets you know that he's up to something and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Neji noticed it looked exactly the same as the one Naruto had given Kiba just before he knocked him out a month prior.

"Stop wasting my time fool. I let you trick me once. It won't happen again." He was on his guard now. He wasn't going to let himself get distracted like earlier by some stupid show of clones.

"Are you sure you don't want to see it? I think you of all people would really appreciate just how magical it is!" Naruto beamed.

Neji remained silent as he stared down his opponent.

The silver-blonde haired boy was wearing a purple cutoff shirt, but he stuck his hands out and pulled at fake sleeves as if they stretched past his hands. "There's nothing up this sleeve." He said as he pulled at his right wrist. "And there's nothing up this one." He grinned as he pulled at his left. "But if you watch closely…"

Neji tensed as chakra leaked out of Naruto's feet. People in the audience couldn't see it unless they were Hyuga, but Neji's byakugan watched as the blue colored chakra spread across the ground and seemed to portion all of Naruto's weight evenly across the surface.

"… you'll see magic." The dark hilt of God Eater appeared in Naruto's hand and the hair on Neji's neck stood on end in surprise.

'_Where did that hilt come from? I don't see any summoning seals. It's almost as if it came out of nowhere!'_

"Told you, you would appreciate it." Naruto said smugly as he saw the widening in Neji's eyes. "But it's not over yet." From the end of the hilt, the black gears of God Eater forced their way into life.

The crowd went into a low hush and the collective visitors from every ninja village listened to the thunks of clashing metal as Naruto's first sword made its appearance and twisted into its futuristic shape of polished black sheen.

Neji didn't know what to say. He believed that something was wrong with his eyes. Maybe Naruto put him into a genjutsu or something. Neji whispered a 'kai' and forced his chakra through his system. Genjutsu never worked well on him before, but there was a first for everything.

The dark haired boy paled when nothing happened. It wasn't a genjutsu so that means what Naruto just did was real. The boy just pulled a giant club like sword out of thin air and it was heavy. Very heavy. It was without a doubt the most molecular dense thing he had ever seen. And yes he can see density. It was a perk of being a Hyuga.

The byakugan measured the amount of force Naruto was now exerting on the pad of chakra coming out of his feet as it dispersed his new overwhelming weight. It must be around… "Fifty thousand one hundred and seventy three pounds." Neji said in disbelief.

"Ahh." Naruto smiled. "You can see that huh?" The blonde said as he looked down at his feet. "So that means you can see this too."

Naruto lifted his right foot off the ground as the energy under him began to churn.

Almost in an instant, the wide pad of chakra that had been surrounding Naruto's feet collapsed into straight line. And at the end of that line stood Neji. '_What is he…'_

"You might as well call the medics now!"

The Hyuga prodigy had no time to think as Naruto's foot slammed into the ground and every bit of that fifty thousand pounds traveled down the narrow pathway of chakra it was given. The result was a destructive crater that destroyed the ground in an ugly crooked path toward Neji.

The gentle fist user jumped to the side and avoided the chasm that formed where he stood just a moment ago, but as soon as his foot touched the ground another tendril of chakra shot in his direction. With an extra stomp Naruto sent a shock-wave that shook the spectators in the stands and opened up a precipice under Neji's feet.

(line break)

"Thank you for moving Gaara's match to the end. I do so want to see him fight the Uchiha." The 'Kazekage' said with a wry smile.

The Hokage turned to the disguised Orochimaru and nodded his head. "It was no problem. I must admit I was looking forward to it myself. But Naruto's match has me more interested now." The old man chuckled as he watched the blonde genin's and fight the stadium rumbled with unease. "Crazy kid."

Orochimaru looked down at the obstacle fighting below them. The last time he fought Naruto he got surprised by the little genin's mysterious powers and he paid for it. If there is a next time the boy won't be so lucky.

"Who is that child?" The fake Kazekage asked with fake interest. He already knew about every competitor' skills thanks to Kabuto, but he didn't know any details of Naruto's past so he thought maybe the old man could fill in some blanks for him.

"Uzumaki Naruto. He was the dead last of the academy in the last term."

Orochimaru squeezed his fist in anger as he was reminded about how a dead last genin did so much damage to him. Granted it was after a grueling fight against Sephiroth but still, the kid was a freaking genin. Even in a weakened state, Orochimaru should have had no problem with him.

"He's also the most determined boy I've ever met. He represents the very heart of this village and, more than that, he represents the bright future in front of us." Sarutobi smiled warmly.

'_It's not going to be as bright as you think monkey.'_ Orochimaru thought to himself as he looked at an inconspicuous Anbu. The masked ninja turned slightly and cued his master to let him know he was ready for the invasion. All they needed was the signal.

The snake turned back to the match and smiled sadistically under the cloth covering his face. '_For now I will just let things unfold. But soon I will destroy the heart and future you hold so dear.'_

(line break)

To the people watching it must have seemed like Naruto was performing B-rank doton jutsu using only his feet as he tore through the arena by merely walking, but the Hyuga family saw the truth. Hinata herself wouldn't have believed what was happening if she didn't see it with her own eyes. Naruto was throwing around more weight than humanly possible and his muscles were barely even tightening! It was almost a curse for her to see how intoxicatingly strong he was.

Hinata would have been surprised if she could hear the similar thoughts coming from her sister, Hanabi. The younger Hyuga girl was foaming at the mouth from the raw power in front of her, but who could really blame her? She bit her lip as she watched Naruto's chaotic chakra network spin like an unstoppable flood. She dug her nails into her palm as he pulled a weapon out of non-existence. If the firecracker wasn't sitting, her knees would have buckled at how easily he could tear the earth into pieces. He made it look like he was kicking dirt off of his shoes as he flexed craters into the ground.

Kiba jarred in his seat from the fight. Wiping the forming sweat off of his brow, he thanked Kami that Naruto didn't use that giant metal tank against him. _'Now that I look back at it, maybe my fight with him wasn't so bad._' He told himself reluctantly, but that idea didn't stick in his head very long. '_Eh, I could still kick his ass in a fair fight.'_ The Inuzuka in him wouldn't let him admit defeat, no matter how unlikely it was he could win. They always were a confident bunch.

Sakura and Ino marveled at Naruto's new technique. Only he would think to use his strength in that way and, in a Naruto like fashion, he made the entire audience forget that Neji was a hailed prodigy that had already shown them amazing things. All eyes were on the blonde now, but that was never a surprise to the two girls. Their eyes have been solely pressed on Naruto for a long time and now others are just finding out what the girls have got to know over the past few months.

"Hey Forehead." Ino nudged as she looked around the audience.

"Shut up Piggy. I'm trying to watch Naruto." Sakura said as she pushed Ino's elbow away.

"You're not the only one watching him." Ino said with a giggle.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the match to find out what the blonde wanted. "What are you talking about?"

"Just look over there." Ino said as she pointed across the audience at a drooling Tenten.

"Of course she's interested. She's a weapons mistress. Naruto has a weapon. What's your point?" Sakura stated even though she knew Tenten probably wasn't ogling just the sword. The panda haired girl will soon find out that if she doesn't keep her distance from Sakura's man, she is going to be in for a world of hurt.

"Really. Well what about her?" Next she pointed at Hinata who almost seemed to be babbling incoherently as she blushed at Naruto.

"Okay she likes Naruto." The pinkette said plainly. "But she hasn't had the guts to say anything for years and that won't change soon." But if it does change then Sakura would have to remove a blue haired stuttering obstacle from her path. And remove it she would.

"I'll give you that." Ino conceded easily. "Hinata doesn't have the guts, but her sister on the other hand..." The blonde left the sentence hang as she glanced over at the other Hyuga sister. The girl was eyeing Naruto up like a piece of well-built meat that she wanted to sink her teeth into.

Ino watched her pink haired friend get worked up at the sight. It was so much fun to mess with her. Plus, she looked cute when she pouted. With her puffed up pink cheeks that matched her hair. And her slightly pursed lips that still looked soft even when she's mad. _'Whoa whoa. Watch those thoughts Ino.'_ The blonde girl said to herself.

"I've heard of her." Sakura said with a frown. "She's not like Hinata at all. That one is more like the rest of the Hyuga's. Cold, but she gets what she wants." With a wave of her hand the pinkette brushed Hanabi off. "But she's only seven years old. By the time she hits puberty Naruto will be with me anyways." She said smugly.

The mind walker shook off her weird thoughts about her friend. "Ah ah ah Forehead. You're forgetting about the one important person that could actually get in your way." Ino grinned and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You're thinking too highly of yourself Piggy. You're not in my way at all. I don't even need to try to stop you."

"That's pretty arrogant of you Sakura." Ino said with a devilish smile. "We'll see who Naruto-kun likes more when we go out on our date with him later today. After tonight he'll be all mine."

"Delusional Ino. Just delusional." Sakura said with a smirk.

The two girls giggled and pushed each other around playfully for a few moments. With a final nudge they settled their legs next to each other and watched Naruto continue his fight in comfortable silence.

(line break)

Neji attempted to rush Naruto just to find that the blonde had no intention of making anything that easy for him. Naruto could send out his chakra in different formations so, whenever Neji got within twenty feet, the jinchuuriki would create a T shaped fissure in the ground that kicked up rocks and acted like a barrier.

The dark haired Hyuga took to the walls thinking that maybe Naruto couldn't get to him there, but he found that wasn't the case. The blonde just threw his giant sword over his shoulder and trotted over to the edge of the stadium before shoving his foot directly through the wall and caving in half of the siding.

Neji hit the ground and let out a controlled breath as he waited for Naruto's next attack. He had to figure out a way to get near him, but every time he approached the boy a shower of debris would fly directly towards his throat. It was just a game of cat and mouse now. Neji wasn't tired and Naruto wasn't stopping. Nothing had changed in the past few minutes of fighting and it didn't seem like it was going to. Not unless one of them can figure out a new strategy.

"I'm so boooooored." Naruto pouted. "Can't you do something cool? I've been sitting here pretty much waiting for you to come up with something, but you just keep running around."

"Very soon I will figure out a way to get near you. And when I do you won't be getting up like before." Neji taunted.

As usual, Naruto completely ignored the taunt and scoffed. "How about I make it easy for you Neji. If you say you're sorry to Hinata-chan right now, I will put my fantastic super sword away and I won't use it again for the rest of the match. I'm still going to kick your ass for hurting her, but at least you would have a clear conscious while I did it. Whatd'ya say?" He said as he tapped the side of God Eater.

"If Hinata-sama wishes for my apologies she need only ask for them." Neji said involuntarily like he has said it a thousand times before.

Naruto sighed at the lackluster response from Neji. The silver-blonde boy was hoping for an actual apology, not a forced one. "What I meant to say was if you say you're sorry to her AND YOU MEAN IT I will put my fantastic super sword away for the rest of the match."

Neji's eyes narrowed at Naruto. "I will never sincerely apologize to any of the main branch for my actions. My body is made to follow their orders, but nothing else!" The dark haired boy tore off his forehead protector to reveal a complex seal on his forehead. "So long as this curse is placed upon me I will forever despise them! My fate is sealed behind this mark because Hinata-sama and the rest of the main branch have made it so."

"I really don't think Hinata-chan has anything to do with that seal on your head." Naruto jeered.

"You don't know anything about the Hyuga family." He bit back.

"You're right. I don't." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "But I do know a little about seals. Let me guess, it wraps around your head and with a word anyone in the main branch can turn your brain into mush." It was fairly common knowledge that any side branch member had the Hyuga family seal and most in the ninja community knew what it was for. It was made primarily to keep any usurpers from trying to rebel against the main branch.

When Neji didn't say anything Naruto took it as a yes.

"That's… pretty upsetting." Naruto said with a frown. "But it doesn't mean that your fate is set so stop being such a pessimistic asshole and do something about it!"

"You act like such a child. You don't have any idea how the world works. My life is at the disposal of the main branch just like my father's was and nothing will change that. Any one of them would kill me on a whim." Neji seethed.

"I don't care what you say Neji. I know you're wrong and I'll prove it to you." Naruto dispelled God Eater and cracked his neck. "If you think it's your destiny to win this fight then I will show that fate has no control over us like you think it does! And if a failure like me can win, just think about what a prodigy like you could do. Ne?"

The look in Naruto's eyes was determined, but Neji wasn't so easily swayed. "I've had enough." He moved into his stance. "Prepare yourself."

Naruto got down on all fours into a stance resembling a rabid animal and tilted his head up to look at his opponent. He looked like a hungry predator watching its prey. "I've been ready. And because it's so boring to just keep you running around all day, I've decided to bring the fight to you." He smirked devilishly as his legs launched him into a sprint.

Naruto was ridiculously fast, but it was nothing Neji couldn't handle. Now that Naruto put his sword away he didn't stand a chance. Just a little bit closer and…

The blonde stopped just outside of Neji's striking range. "Just kidding. You didn't really think I was going to get that close to you right?" He smirked as he pulled his feet under him to jump up into the air. "Braver!"

Neji almost didn't make it out of the way fast enough as Naruto crashed down and left a deep gash in the earth using the buster sword. _'Another sword?'_

The Hyuga didn't waste a second before jumping towards the open Naruto to finish him. This strike was going straight for tenketsu around his heart. No more games.

Naruto swiveled and used his glowing blue sword to strike in Neji's direction. *"Cross Slash!" He said as he vertically slashed his sword and carved four gashes into the ground with one strike. The damage looked like a shotgun blast as it seemed to concentrate at the sword and arc outwards.

Neji avoided this attack just to find another quickly following behind it. "Blade Beam!"

The fluorescent blue ball of energy exploded a few feet in front of Neji and sent him careening backwards. The Hyuga stood up as quickly as his battered body would allow to see another blade beam heading his way. With a concentrated blast of chakra out of the tenketsu in his foot, Neji stomped the attack away and made it inert.

"Apologize to Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled as he sent out another blade beam.

Neji deflected it. "I will not!"

Naruto sent out three more beams in a row. "Try seeing this from her point of view! You don't know what it's like to be her just like she doesn't know what you're going through."

Neji spun into a kaiten and canceled out the three attacks before moving in on Naruto. "I don't care what her life is like."

Naruto used a cross slash to stop Neji's advance and jumped back to a safer distance. "If you won't walk a mile in her shoes." He said tiredly. "Then I'll force you to walk a mile in mine."

(line break)

A very large vein was beginning to throb on Sakura's forehead as she watched Tenten fawn over her man. The weapon girl looked like she was about to tear off her panties so she could throw them at Naruto as he fought against Neji. With an evident anger in her voice the pinkette cracked her knuckles and stood up. "I think I'm going to have a word with Tenten."

Ino pulled her friend back down. "Settle down Forehead. If you don't get used to girls hitting on Naruto-kun then you're going to be stressed out all the time."

"Are you even looking around at all Ino? I can see them undressing him with their eyes!" A whisper concerning Naruto's backside sprouted up behind the girls and the pinkette heard it. Sakura whipped around and pointed at some defenseless civilian girl that had a blush on her face. "I heard that tramp! Find your own man!" The girl yelped in fear and nodded slowly. The enraged kunoichi turned back around and sat down with Ino. "That's damn right you're scared of me. I'll mess you up." She mumbled to herself.

Ino laughed at Sakura's antics. "Can you really blame them? Look at him out there. All confident and sexy. A fine layer of sweat glistening off the planes of his neck as it drips down his steady shoulders and makes its way towards his firm butt." Ino's eyes went bleary about mid-way through her sentence. "I'm gonna go down there and mount him." She stood up just to be pulled back down by Sakura.

"Alright. You made your point Piggy. I'll try not to threaten everyone that hits on him." Sakura took a deep breath. "Man, you're such a horn dog."

Ino shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Yeah I know." The blonde girl let out a breath and fanned her reddened face using her hand. "I got myself a little worked up talking about his butt. I think I need a cold shower." She said with a giggle.

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, me too."

(line break)

"I would like to explain a little bit about my swords if that's okay."

Neji was silent, but interested nonetheless so he waited.

Naruto smiled at Neji's interest lifted the hilt in his hand towards his chest. "This is the Buster Sword. He's been very good to me and I'm proud of him." The blonde smiled warmly at the large blade as it flashed white and faded away. "This one…" Naruto said as the futuristic God Eater formed in his hand. "… is God Eater. He represents my will to keep fighting and more."

Neji shifted in his stance as he observed the second sword disintegrate away.

The troubled jinchuuriki sighed sadly and slumped his shoulders. "But I have another sword. It's not something I am very fond of and I never planned on using it against a fellow Konoha ninja, but I think it suits us well. I've learned that it's just as much a part of me as the other two swords are so I shouldn't try to fight it anymore. It would be like lying to myself." He smiled. "But at the same time it makes me happy because it lets me know that I'm just as human as anyone else and that is something I'm thankful for."

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Neji said cautiously. In fact, a lot of the things Naruto says never make any sense.

The blonde shook his head. "Ah I guess you're right. I'm just talking out of my ass again huh?" He chuckled. "Well, the point of my whole speech was, because you refuse to understand others I'm going to MAKE you understand someone." He thrust a thumb to his chest. "Me."

"I do understand you." Neji said and Naruto lifted a confused eyebrow. "I understand that you are a failure. You are trash. Scum. A waste of life that needs to be removed. Nothing you've done or will do will amount to anything, which means one thing. You're existence is entirely unnecessary."

"Neji. Stop." Neji's venom dripped words were painful. They cut deeper than the raven haired boy could know. Naruto looked up to Ino and Sakura in a moment of desperate sadness and with one look their hearts were torn in half. It took almost all of Ino's might to stop Sakura from jumping out of the stands to kill Neji and it took the rest to stop herself from doing the same thing.

"You're a stain on this village. You delude yourself with ideas that everyone has good in them when the truth is people only care for themselves." Neji said as he continued his insults.

If Neji's byakugan could really see everything like he claimed, then it would be able to witness a silver haired man breaking out of the flimsy chains that bound him and making his way to the surface of Naruto's mind.

(line break)

"**I hate it when he does this."** The Kyuubi snarled as he watched Sephiroth rise off of the ground with a smirk on his face. "**Can't we just kill him already?"**

"_You know that we are no more able to remove him than we are able to remove ourselves. We have all become too far ingrained into Naruto. If any one of us is taken away we all die."_ Gilgamesh said impassively to the giant fox demon.

"**But still, I really don't like that guy."** The Kyuubi whined. **"Naruto doesn't need his power when he has us anyways."**

"_Sephiroth is now a part of him. If Naruto wants to use his power then we have no say over it. And, although I do not appreciate his presence either, he is an asset."_ The blue skinned spirit moved next to the Kyuubi and tilted his head up as the Soldier kept rising above them.

"**He messes with the boy's head."** The fox snarled. **"But at least he hasn't tried to cause any trouble lately. I think he's just biding his time."**

"_I agree. That's why we have to watch him. Especially at times like this."_

(line break)

When Neji finished insulting Naruto, everything was silent except the short quick breathes escaping the blonde's lips. He couldn't bring himself to even look at the Hyuga.

"I've heard a lot of insults in my day, but I'd have to say you chose a few of my favorites." Naruto said with the same fake smile he wore most of his life. He'd heard the same things before so one more reminder didn't hurt too much more than the last time. Although it was still quite painful, it just proved how far gone Neji's ideals were. "Looks like it's just about time for a finale."

A sickly black aura coated Naruto's left hand as he closed his eyes. From Neji's point of view it looked like a new chakra was beginning to circulate into his system. He could see a black, corrosive, hate filled energy as it coursed through Naruto's veins and seeped out of his tenketsu.

Most people that fight a Hyuga only know a few things about the byakugan. First, it lets them see with almost 360 degree vision. Second, it allows them to see through any object down to the chakra network. But what a lot of people don't know however, is that the byakugan is a lot more than just X-Ray vision. It actually allows its user to see personalities. It can read a smile on someone's face like a fingerprint to a finger. It remembers each person's posture like ordinary people remember names.

That's why when Naruto stood up straight Neji almost didn't recognize him. When Naruto's smile faded and drooped into an uncaring expression he looked like a totally different person. The blonde was no longer the same. He wasn't carefree like before and didn't have the same jovial attitude about the fight anymore. His eyes had become cold and heartless. His back was straight in a show of regality and his lips were pressed together slightly as his head turned elegantly away from Neji. Every move was purposeful unlike before when half the steps were wasted energy.

"You are not Uzumaki Naruto." Neji stated tersely. There was no doubt in his voice. He was convinced someone else was standing in front of him.

The silver-blonde boy looked towards Neji with half lidded eyes and indifferent face. "I am." He said plainly as he began a slow gait in Neji's direction.

"I know that you are not. What did you just do?" The Hyuga narrowed his eyes. Even the voice was different. It was deep and unfriendly.

"I already told you who I am. Believe what you will, but I am Uzumaki Naruto and the things I do are none of your concern." The smoothness in this man's stride was odd for Neji to see. Whenever he wasn't holding God Eater Naruto steps were always soundless when he walked, but now it's like there was no one there at all. "But I am here to help you." The way it was said sounded like anything, but the truth. "You make it sound like your life is so horrible. That no one else has problems besides you. That growing up was tougher for you than it was for me." Naruto stopped seven feet away from Neji. "I'll show you my childhood right now. Here's your invitation to my fifth birthday."

Neji coated his hands with a thick layer of chakra when he saw the hilt appear in Naruto's left hand. The Hyuga tried to bat away the blade of the Masamune like he would any other sword, but instead it shot out of the hilt and pierced straight through the chakra protecting Neji's hand like it was cutting through butter.

In a flash Neji was kicked off of his feet and forced to the ground as Naruto drove the entire seven foot length of the Masamune through the palm of his hand and into the earth. He pushed the sword through so far that the hilt butted up against Neji's palm to hold him in place.

The Hyuga clutched at the hilt of Masamune with his free hand just to have Naruto pry his arm open and shove a kunai into his other palm to make it stay in place.

"Let me go!" Neji raged.

"Oh don't be such a baby. I didn't cut any bones or tendons. Your hands will be just fine once I remove these things." Naruto said in a warmer voice than before.

Neji ignored the pain shooting through his body and looked at the boy sitting on his chest. The merciless killer that was just there a moment ago was gone and back was the kind hearted Naruto he was fighting earlier. The smile, the posture, the eyes, everything was back to the way it was. Even the way he breathed had reverted to its usual pace.

"But if you try to struggle…" Naruto chuckled as he put his hand on the kunai. "… I'll twist it and then you might have a problem making hand signs for a while." Not that Neji needed to make hand signs because he usually just used his family style, but the threat was still noted.

He reluctantly nodded in understanding and Naruto smiled.

"Good. So what do you think about my childhood?" He said as he motioned to Neji's hands. "Not very fun huh?"

"You've crucified me. How is this supposed to be a childhood?" Neji said with a wince as another wave of pain washed over his arms.

"On my fifth birthday I was nailed to the floor of my apartment. This is just one of the things I had to go through while I was growing up." Naruto said non-chalantly.

Neji could tell that Naruto was telling the truth thanks to his doujutsu. To think something like this could be done to a child.

"Except they didn't care as much about avoiding my bones when they shoved spikes through my hands." He said with a sad chuckle.

The pale boy choked on his breath. While Neji was growing up he was pushed and beaten during training, but never nailed down! He never neared deaths door in that manner. His father was always there to protect him from dangers like those. After his father died for the main house Neji became bitter, but he knew his father had loved him once. That's why the thought of a five year old orphan Naruto, nailed to the floor with no one to protect him would even disturb the Hyuga who thought no one else mattered but himself. Naruto must have been so alone.

"But I'll still sit here with a goddamn smile on my face and listen to you bitch about your family. And then one day when I become Hokage I'll help you get this stupid seal off your head even if it's only to shut you up." Naruto said as he poked Neji on the forehead.

The Hyuga boy bit his lip. "That's not possible. They would never allow it." He said quietly.

"I will do it and I bet Hinata-chan would help me." Naruto grabbed Neji's face with his hand and forcibly turned his head to look at Hinata to see her violently coughing up blood. She probably wasn't fully recovered from her fight with Neji and overused her byakugan to watch their fight. "Do you see what you did to her? You tried to kill a kind hearted girl who never wanted to harm you in the first place."

Neji deactivated his byakugan and put his head to the side. He didn't want to see her like that anymore. _'What have I done?'_

"I hope I've given you some things to think about for when you wake up." With his last word Naruto grabbed Neji's dark hair and slammed his head into the ground. The Hyuga boy was knocked out cold and the fight was finally over.

Naruto yanked the kunai out of Neji's hand and touched his pointer finger to Masamune to recall it.

With a sigh of relief the blonde fell back onto his butt and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. The fight was long and Naruto was pretty sure he had a broken rib or two ever since Neji hit him with that kaiten at the beginning of the match. He had been having some serious trouble breathing for a bit, but he could feel it getting better thanks to the furball. No need to involve the medics.

The last bit of adrenaline was finally running its course as the blonde shook some energy out of his hand. Taking power from Sephiroth tended to leave him a little high like that. It wasn't something he planned to do very often, but boy was it exhilarating! The confidence, the increase of strength, the clear mind, and the speed. Oh the speed! The world seemed to slow down once he tapped into the foreign energy that Sephiroth provided and his arms felt like they could swing Masamune so fast it would look like it was in a constant state of shunshin.

But taking his power had a major downside. For the few short moments that he allows Sephiroth to fully join with him, Naruto becomes nothing short of a sociopath. If he would've killed Neji it wouldn't have surprised him at all. Using the power was the ultimate test of spiritual control. That's why Naruto limits himself. He would only take as much as he needed and never more, but he found the more he used it the easier it was to control. Slowly but surely Naruto was learning to handle his power and eventually Sephiroth won't even have an ounce of influence over him.

"Winner. Uzumaki Naruto." Genma said lazily to the crowd as he faced the Hokage's personal skybox.

The entire audience was silent as they looked down at Naruto, but that didn't last long as two loud voices cut in excitedly. "Cha! Way to go Naruto!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Whoo Naruto-kun! Way to kick his uptight ass!" Ino joined in immediately after.

The blonde boy turned his head to see the girls jumping up and down in their seats with huge smiles on their faces. Even if no one else so much as clapped for him, he was more than happy just to have their applause.

It was quiet at first, but after Ino and Sakura started cheering, Tenten soon joined in. Then Hinata. Even Kiba howled for his classmate. And soon the whole crowd of people were clapping and cheering for one of the best starting matches to a chuunin exam they had ever seen.

The silver haired jonin turned to the blonde genin. "You okay?" He drawled.

Naruto nodded and stood up to shake the dust off of his wing. He looked around the stands as the thunderous applause slowly started to die down. "Yeah. I'm good." He said happily. Acknowledgement felt nice.

Genma looked the boy over critically for a moment. He was actually checking for injuries, but Naruto didn't know that. To Naruto it looked like the guy was checking him out. "Medics. Come get this one." Genma said as he pointed down at the unconscious Neji. He took the senbon out of his mouth and tilted back before yelling off to the side. "And let's get a doton user down here to fix up this arena!" In seconds a few chuunin jumped down and smoothed out the trenches that Naruto had made a little earlier.

Naruto began to walk away, but he was stopped by the proctor's voice. "And you."

The blonde turned and pointed a finger towards his face. "Me?"

"Yeah you. Get those ribs checked out." Naruto huffed and frowned. "You suck at lying." Genma said with a shrug.

Naruto waved him off as he tapped his side. "It's fine now. See?" The blonde only winced a little.

Genma 'hmphed' and put the senbon back in his mouth. "Suit yourself. Just get out of the arena then. You've already done enough damage to this place and I don't want to risk anymore." He said with a smirk as he turned away.

Naruto smiled and jumped up to the competitor's box to find a row of stunned genin. They all seemed to be staring a little too hard for his liking. "What?" He said with a grunt. Temari and Kankuro scoffed and turned away, but Gaara just kept on staring like usual. Creep.

Shikimaru approached him immediately. Don't mistake immediately for quickly because you'd be wrong if you did. Nothing the pineapple head ever did could be considered quick. As he slowly walked towards Naruto, the look on his face was priceless. It took a keen eye to see surprise on the laziest genin's face, but Naruto had known Shikamaru long enough to see it with no problem.

"That was an interesting show Naruto." Shikamaru started. "Do you have any more surprises for us or was that enough for one day?" The pineapple head lazily leaned against a rail and crossed his arms.

"They wouldn't be surprises if I told you." Naruto chuckled.

Kankuro forfeit his match quickly so next up was Temari and Shikamaru. She jumped down to the arena as her name was called along with his, but it didn't seem like the genius had any intention of moving as he fixed Naruto with a stare.

"Aren't you going down there?" Naruto asked.

The lazy boy turned and looked down at the sand kunoichi impatiently staring at him. "The troublesome woman can wait. I'm more interested in my classmate for now."

Naruto sighed and moved in front of Shikamaru. He was just procrastinating now. "Stop making excuses because you don't feel like going down there yet. Lazy ass." He said as he pushed the cloud watching boy off of the ledge and into the arena.

Shikamaru hit the dirt hard. His ass was going to feel that in the morning for sure. He looked up to see Naruto grinning down and giving him the thumbs up sign. That kid was just begging to be shadow strangled! Calm down Shikamaru. Getting riled up isn't cool.

The lazy genin stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants before sending a sluggish look in the blonde boy's direction. He was too lazy to glare so a gentle stare was the most he could give. "Eh. Whatever." He found he reached a new level of lethargy as his anger dwindled because staying mad at someone was too hard to do for more than a few minutes at a time.

With his hands in his pockets he walked over to start his match. "Fighting just ain't my gig."

(line break)

Naruto laughed as Shikamaru hit the dirt. _'Serves you right bum!'_ He peered over the edge and gave him the thumbs up to make sure he had enough encouragement. It didn't seem to work as Shikamaru kind of glared at him, he guessed.

_'Now to sit back and enjoy the match.'_ Naruto said to himself as he leaned against the wall and stretched out. His rib injury made him wince, but it wasn't as bad as before. It wouldn't take long before he wouldn't even feel it anymore.

The blonde tried to relax before he had to fight again, but there was someone making so much noise that he couldn't fully unwind. Naruto kept hearing someone say 'mother' and 'blood' over and over and it was driving him nuts!

"Mother. Please be patient." Gaara said to himself.

The red head turned slowly when he felt a presence to his side and he almost shrieked a bit when he saw the face of Naruto blinking at him owlishly. The blonde had pulled down his collar to show that he was frowning drastically and was obviously upset about something. "Shh!" He said as loud as he could. "Some people are trying to relax over here!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Mother. I can now understand why you are so impatient." He said as a visible tick mark formed on his head.

It took a second, but Naruto registered the sand boy's words and a huge grin hit his face. "Did you say mother? No freaking way! The voice in my head never shuts up about his mom either!"

Naruto was about to say more, but instead he suddenly put his head down in concentration. "Yes you do."

Gaara wasn't positive, but it seemed like the strange blonde boy was talking to himself.

"Yeah you do! You were literally just talking about her and I interrupted you!"

'…'

"You can go to hell!"

'…'

Naruto gasped. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

'…'

"Jokes on you! I didn't even know my mom!" Naruto looked triumphant before sighing and sulking in over exaggeration. "Well thanks, now I'm all depressed. Consider yourself cut off!"

By this time Gaara had taken a step back. Seeing someone else talk to themselves made him reconsider his own position since it even creeped him out a little.

Naruto looked at him and smiled knowingly as he pointed to his head. "Voices." He said jokingly. "Can't live with them, and can't stop them from taking over your body at the worst times. Am I right?" He chuckled.

Gaara wanted to say no, but that statement was actually quite astute. His mother did tend to take over at inopportune times.

"You know. I thought you were weird before, but now I see that we actually have a lot in common." Naruto said happily to Gaara.

The red haired boy didn't know how to react to someone treating him nicely. "Common?"

"The voice in our heads. You got one too right?"

Gaara nodded slowly. "My mother."

"Let me guess. Your 'Mother'..." Naruto used air quotes when he said it. "... keeps telling you to kill stuff. Am I right?"

The redhead nodded again.

The blonde furrowed his brow in thought. "Hmm. Isn't that kind of weird thing for a mom to say?"

Gaara crossed his arms and tilted his head back slightly. "Not really. That's what she always says."

"And her voice. Is it nice and pretty like I imagine a mom would be?" Naruto questioned.

"Umm... no. It's kind of raspy. And deep." Gaara said hesitantly.

"Well that doesn't sound like any mom I've ever heard of. Did you ever think that maybe..." Naruto trailed off.

"What?" Gaara said impatiently.

"Well. Did you ever think that maybe... I don't know... It's not your mom, but instead it's an evil spirit that's trying to take you over so he can destroy the world or something." Naruto said kind of quickly.

Gaara pulled his head back a little and looked at Naruto confusedly. "Err no. Mother has said nothing of destroying the world. Why do you ask?"

Naruto looked down and itched his chin in embarrassment. "Personal experience I guess." He said quietly.

There was an awkward silence as the two boys stood there. It was that point in the conversation when you discover that there's nothing else to talk about, but neither person wants to be the first to say it.

"Soooo. Nice talk." Naruto said awkwardly before walking away as quick as he could.

Gaara watched Naruto trot away and was surprised to find that his bloodlust had actually decreased slightly after talking with the blonde. With his thoughts finally to himself he decided to ask his mother the question that seemed prevalent at the moment.

_'Hey mother?'_ Gaara said to himself.

**'Yes.'** Shukaku answered back.

_'You're not like, an evil spirit or anything are you?'_ He asked hopefully. He said it the same shy and cute way a baby boy asks his mom something.

**'Uhh ummm.** **No?**" Shukaku said nervously.

Gaara gave a small sigh of relief. _'Oh good._ _For a second there I thought I was going to have to turn on you and do everything in my power to sequester you to the deepest and darkest parts of my mind where you would never be heard from again.' _He started out the sentence nicely, but by the time he was finished there was an evil undertone in his voice.

'**Oh yeah. I'm your mom alright. Gave birth to you and... umm... stuff.'** Shukaku stuttered. **'So keep up the good work. Maim and kill and whatnot.'**

_'Of course mother._ _I will maim and kill anyone who crosses me...' _Gaara said eerily. '_Anyone_.' There was an obvious extra intention in his words.

Shukaku never thought he would be afraid of his container, but he had a feeling that the jig was almost up. **'Ah shit.'** He said forlornly.

(line break)

Naruto stared down at the empty chair that was just calling his name. He so desperately wanted to sit down after his match, but there was something very important he had to take care of first.

There was a little dog boy that was in dire need of a pranking. Kiba probably thought he was off the hook, but he was so very wrong. But how to do it? He could just go into the stands and get him, but that seems to lack finesse.

He let out a gruesome smirk as the pieces of a plan came together. "I think I need to pay a visit to Ino-chan." He said evilly.

(line break)

Kiba stared intently at Shikamaru's match as his hand idly pet Akamaru's furry little noggin. He was blissfully unaware of the danger that sat just a few rows behind him as he pet his cute puppy. Even if he could see Ino forming the hand signs for her jutsu there was probably nothing he could have done.

He was a front line fighter. He didn't have any defense against mind attacks. That's why he was powerless to stop himself as he was forced to stand up and walk in front of the crowd of people watching the fight below. All he could do was scream in his head about how pissed off he was.

He took a firm stance in front of the crowd and drew all of their attention to himself. With a clawed hand and a single swipe he ripped his pants off and swung them to the side. In his head he was absolutely livid about his situation, but on the outside it looked like he was ecstatic to be in front of the crowd with his manhood on display.

And then the show tunes started.

װ Hello my baby! Hello my hunny! Hello my ragtime gal!װ

It was accompanied by a dance, but luckily that was as far as he got before four Anbu and three angry mothers tackled him to the ground. He screamed about the injustice as they drug him out of the arena in chains.

A few rows back Ino smirked in satisfaction at her work. That's another notch on her belt.

Naruto held his sides as they burned from laughing too hard. "Thanks Ino-chan." He whispered into her ear.

She shivered from his light breath on her neck, but turned and winked at him. "Too easy."

He reached down and pulled both girls into a hug. Sakura latched around his back and held him in place. "You haven't forgotten about tonight? Right Naruto?"

He poked his temple with his pointer finger. "Uber memory." He said with a wry smile.

The pinkette resisted the urge to smack him. She knew he didn't forget. Sakura was just showing him how excited she was without having to directly tell him.

Also, she and Ino had been prepping for the date all night. Her skin was at its smoothest and her hair was at its softest at the moment so she wanted to call a little attention to herself.

"Don't you worry Sakura-chan!" He said as he hugged her a little closer. "Tonight's gonna be a blast dattebayo!"

Sakura's face went pink and she smiled sweetly as she slowly let go of Naruto. The girls watched as he moved back out of the crowd and waved goodbye to them. They smiled as a few civilian girls attempted to approach him, but his attention was so focused on Ino and Sakura that he didn't even notice the other women.

Sakura's heart filled with hope for the amazing time she planned to have later. So long as everything goes well.

Too bad an entire army of ninja's had other plans.

(line break)

By the time Naruto made it back to the competitors box the chair he wanted to sit in earlier was already taken. The blonde sighed and sat on the ground next to the spot stealer. "Hey teme. Glad to see you could make it."

Sasuke leaned back and crossed his arms. He had arrived just in time to see Kiba being dragged away by Anbu. It was easy to see Naruto had something to do with the situation, but he didn't really care so long as someone put Kiba's pants back on.

"Hn."

Naruto leaned his face up against his hand for comfort, but failed. "You're up next. Oyaji moved you're match to last." He said as he laid his back against the ground. "Try not to lose because I'd much prefer to kick your ass over Gaara's." The blonde smirked.

Sasuke scoffed. "You talk too much dobe."

"Yeah well you don't talk enough so I'm just making up for it." He said sardonically.

"I'm going to wipe that smirk off of your face." Sasuke smirked as he looked down at the prone Naruto.

"I'd like to see you try." Naruto chuckled and pushed Sasuke's arm jokingly.

Sasuke touched a finger to Naruto's nose and shocked him into next week with a small lighting jutsu. The blonde was left in a smokey, charred heap as he wriggled on the ground.

"How was that?" The Uchiha mockingly said.

Naruto smoothed his frizzy static hair down and laid next to Sasuke again.

"I don't know." Naruto grinned. "Why don't you tell me?" Sasuke and the chair he was sitting on were swiftly launched ten feet in the air as Naruto formed God Eater under his seat and propelled the Uchiha upwards. '_Revenge complete._' Naruto thought to himself as he put his hands behind his head.

Sasuke hit the ground and rubbed his now aching back. "Okay." He groaned as he stood up and stretched. "You're dead."

The blonde boy prepared to run away, but the announcement of Temari's victory over Shikamaru just went over the loud speaker so all Sasuke could do was glare at Naruto as he was forced to make his way to the arena.

"Hey teme."

Sasuke turned back.

"Be careful." Naruto said seriously.

"Hn." The raven haired boy smirked. "You should worry about yourself because as soon as I'm done with Gaara I'm coming after you."

Naruto returned the same friendly challenging smile. "I'm counting on it."

***This cross slash was taken from FF7 Advent Children. Cloud swung his sword over his head and four slash marks formed on the ground. They never explicitly said it was a cross slash so I just guessed.**

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading!**

**If you guys feel like reading some more of my stuff I just released a one shot called Reverse Summon. It's just a little story shot from Anko's POV.**


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